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Alsarah & the Nubatones’ new album, Silt, starts off with a catchy call-and-response pop number, but you won’t hear “Habibi Taal” on Hot 99.5. It’s sung in Arabic and includes accompaniment on the stringed, pear-shaped oud and a hand-held wide-frame drum. The Brooklyn-based group features lead vocals from Sudanese-born Alsarah and its music is inspired by her love of Nubian songs from the ’60s and ’70s. Metaphorically, the album title references the “songs of return” of the 100,000 people who were forced to relocate when the Aswan Dam flooded their land. Languid, traditional numbers like “Bilad Aldahb” and “Rennat” spotlight Alsarah’s melancholy as she longs to return to the Nubia that was; other tracks emphasize happier times, channeled by the percussionist’s stroked and slapped rhythms and the high-pitched picking of the oudist. When the group performs at Tropicalia, expect to be equally charmed by the group’s intoxicating melodies and its lively stage act. Alsarah and the Nubatones perform with DJ Underdog at 8 p.m. at Tropicalia, 2001 14th St. NW. $8–$12. (202) 629-4535. tropicaliadc.com.