Sounds from L.A. to Texas to Africa

A weekly roundup of must-hear music from The Times staff. This week’s picks include the latest single from rock-pop act Weezer, the return of Texas singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell and a pair of multi-artist works with worldly ambitions.

Les Amazones d’Afrique “Republique Amazone” (Real World).

For many West African musicians, the statement “I play the kora” is hardly controversial. The stringed instrument, after all, is a central component of the region’s music. That is, unless you’re a woman; mastering the instrument had long been viewed as primarily a male-only trade.

This truth is central to “I Play the Kora,” the first single from the new album by Les Amazones d’ Afrique, an allfemale supergroup of West African singers that includes Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo (Benin), Mariam Doumbia (half of the Malian duo Amadou & Mariam), Mamani Keita (Mali), Nigerian protest singer Nneka and five others.

Titled “Republique Amazone,” the album was envisioned as a way to draw attention to the plight of women and to the Panzi Foundation, which supports gender equality in a region where women are victimized as part of a patriarchal system that considers them to be second-class citizens.

Noble causes, however, seldom generate music as exuberant as the stuff on “Republique Amazone.” Produced by Liam Farrell (a.k.a. Doctor L of the Congolese group Mbongwana Star), the dozen songs on the album mix traditional tones with electronic flourishes, buoyant rhythms and collaborative energy. Variously sung in French, English, Bambara and Fon, lyrics address with unblinking conviction the plight of the powerless, battling oppression with musical fury.