A huge improvement over Bahdeni Nami. Omar's third album after his western breakthrough lives up to expectations. There's no throwaway songs (even the weaker "Khayen" has a good rhythm going on), the producing is vibrant and he even does a slow ballad like I wanted in his last album! It's not the beatless dirge I expected, despite being named "Mawal" and reminding itself of the wasted potential on "Mawal Menzal" in the previous record, but it's so good finally hearing Omar with better production and pouring his heart on each word he utters.
Omar, being the party man he is, dares not being overtly political, despite the complicated situation in which his beloved country is. But beside being a man of parties, he is obviously a man of feelings (as his backcatalog of dabke love songs show). And homesickness is what has been troubling his heart and of the many Syrian refugees that were dislocated because of the conflicts.
And he writes a song about those feelings, about earning for peace and camaraderie among people and missing his home country and hits a home run harder than any other artist that directly tackled the Syrian issue on his/her work. "Chobi", the track I'm talking about, is the slow companion of "Mawal" at the last section of the record that ends it with the earnest wishes of bringing all together to try and fix hearts, closing a very welcome return to form of my favorite wedding singer.
By: Adrianovaz2007