Middle Eastern psych-rock collective AL-QASAR's debut album, "Who Are We?" (out on Glitterbeat Records Sept. 16) is a vivid, explosive mix of heavy Arabian grooves, American psychedelia and North African trance music. With members hailing from three continents, this Paris-based collective developed their "arabian fuzz" sound by uniting Turkish saz, fuzz guitars, Arab oud, darbuka, vintage amps and classic drum sounds. Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), Sudanese singer-songwriter Alsarah, and Egyptian vocalist Hend Elrawy (Orange Blossom) contribute to this smashing debut. The lyrics are in Arabic, delivering an incisive yet poetic attack on political oppression and raising themes often seen as taboo in Middle Eastern music. But the mood is exhilarating, echoing the atmosphere of the band's live gigs, like an Arab wedding turned into a psychedelic celebration on the dancefloor. French-US band leader Thomas Attar Bellier's hard-hitting production is augmented by the mixing ingenuity of Alain Johannes (PJ Harvey, Arctic Monkeys, Queens Of The Stone Age).