POP MUSIC REVIEW : Zap Mama Shows Off AfricanRoots

When Zap Mama’s debut album, “Adventures in Afropea 1,” came out recently, a collective sigh of relief could be heard from world beat a cappella girl group fans across the land. No longer would they have to play their Bulgarian State Female Vocal Choir albums over and over for want of other practitioners of the genre.

At the Roxy on Monday, the five Belgian women with deep African roots proved to have a much broader appeal than that niche might suggest. Aurally, the performance was a feast of every possible sound that can be coaxed from the human mouth, from yelps to horse whinnies to chants to traditional, very beautiful singing in several languages by leader Marie Daulne, plus noises from an assortment of such instruments as bottle and gourd.

It was visually, however, that the show really excelled. Dressed in everything from Melrose chic to African garb, the Brussels-based women looked as different from each other as their music is from the rest of pop. They interacted like a theatrical troupe, play-acting their songs or dancing strange chorus lines. No bit was more bizarre--or enjoyable--than one of the last of many encores, a dance Zap Mama performed in clunky, white plastic rain boots as gracefully as a ballet.