Listening to this new Omar Souleyman album, we couldn't help but wonder how many times Souleyman will still be able to pull off his gimmick before a certain déjà-vu starts setting in? For the time being we'll still allow the Syrian King of dabke (the Syrian answer to Western house and techno) the benefit of the doubt. As the title suggests, 'To Syria With Love' is a tribute to his civil war-torn devastated home country: "It's been six years I've been away, and I'm tired of looking for home and asking about my loved ones. My soul is wounded and it's like having dust in my eyes. We are in exile, and our nights are long. Our homeland is our only comfort. Life caused us so much pain. Our wounds are too many and every wound calls out. We miss Al-Jazira!". For the lyrics Omar this time collaborated with Shawah Al Ahmad, and, of course, the masterful synthesizer work of keyboardist Rizan Sa'id once again proves the most essential ingredient. Postcard home from an artist in exile who's become the face of a displaced generation.