{{Infobox album | name = At Pioneer Works | type = live | artist = Les Filles de Illighadad | cover = At Pioneer Works.jpg | alt = | released = July 9, 2021 | recorded = October 2019 | venue = Pioneer Works (Red Hook, Brooklyn) | studio = | genre = {{hlist|Tuareg blues<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/album-of-the-day/les-filles-de-illighadad-at-pioneer-works-review|author=Marshall Gu|date=July 7, 2021|title=Les Filles de Illighadad, “At Pioneer Works”|work=Bandcamp Daily|access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref><ref name=MOJO/>}} | length = | label = Sahel Sounds | producer = {{hlist|Christopher Kirkley|Ben Parrish|Justin Pyre (co.)}} | prev_title = Eghass Malan | prev_year = 2017 | next_title = | next_year = | misc = }} '''''At Pioneer Works''''' is the third record and first live recording by Niger-based quartet Les Filles de Illighadad, released through Sahel Sounds in July 2021. It was recorded in Brooklyn at the Pioneer Works cultural center.

==Critical reception== {{Album ratings | rev1 = ''Mojo'' | rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="MOJO">{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/mojo-07.21/page/88/mode/1up|title=Mojo 07.21|work=Internet Archive|access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref> | rev2 = ''musicOMH'' | rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="OMH">{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/les-filles-de-illighadad-at-pioneer-works|author=Bekki Bemrose|date=July 7, 2021|title=Les Filles de Illighadad - At Pioneer Works|work=musicOMH|access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev3score = 8.0/10<ref name="Pitchfork">{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/les-filles-de-illighadad-at-pioneer-works/|author=Allison Hussey|date=August 5, 2021|title=Les Filles de Illighadad: At Pioneer Works Album Review|work=Pitchfork|access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Spectrum Culture'' | rev4score = 80%<ref name="Spectrum">{{Cite web|url=https://spectrumculture.com/2021/08/05/les-filles-de-illighadad-at-pioneer-works-review/|author=Pat Padua|title=Les Filles de Illighadad: At Pioneer Works - Spectrum Culture|work=Spectrum Culture|access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref> | rev5 = ''Uncut'' | rev5score = 7/10<ref name="Uncut">{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/uncut-september-2021/page/28/mode/2up|title=Uncut - September 2021|work=Internet Archive|access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref> }} David Renard of ''The New York Times'' described the music as "repetitive and hypnotic... convey[ing] something spiritual and solemn," but noted that it also "transmits a sense of joy and playfulness that goes back to the music's roots in village life."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/arts/music/les-filles-de-illighadad-at-pioneer-works.html |title=Mesmerizing Sounds From the Sahara, Live in Brooklyn |first=David |last=Renard |date=July 28, 2021 |website=The New York Times |access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref>

In a review for ''Mojo'', David Hutcheon praised the group's "insistent beat and the ragged interplay between the guitarists that is seriously (Warhol-era) Velvet Underground in its sting."<ref name="MOJO" />

Bekki Bemrose of ''musicOMH'' called ''At Pioneer Works'' the band's "definitive record to date," and stated that it "feels timeless and sacred," capturing "their tenderness, inventiveness and profound talent."<ref name=OMH />

''Pitchfork'''s Allison Hussey wrote: "Notes seem to spring off of one another on every song, each tightly wound coil bouncing and unspooling in directions that are delightful to follow... The group's music imagines longstanding traditions while channeling the enthusiasm of audacious, self-determined freedom."<ref name="Pitchfork" />

Writing for ''Spectrum Culture'', Pat Padua described the album as "mesmerizing," and commented: "in this spirited live performance, you can hear Les Filles open up their hearts."<ref name="Spectrum" />

A writer for ''Aquarium Drunkard'' remarked: "Melodically, there is plenty of room to breathe. Each instrument... fills in what it needs to organically. Nothing is overworked, just enhanced."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2021/06/11/les-filles-de-illighadad-at-pioneer-works |title=Les Filles de Illighadad: At Pioneer Works |first=E |last=Reily |date=June 11, 2021 |website=Aquarium Drunkard |access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref>

==Track listing== {{track listing | title1=Surbajo | length1=5:50 | title2=Eghass Malan | length2=5:45 | title3=Telilit | length3=11:06 | title4=Chakalan | length4=8:18 | title5=Inssegh Inssegh | length5=8:59 | title6=Irriganan | length6=6:51 }}

==Personnel== All credits adapted from the record's Bandcamp page.<ref name="Bandcamp">{{Cite web|url=https://lesfillesdeillighadad.bandcamp.com/|title=Les Filles de Illighadad|work=lesfillesdeillighadad.bandcamp.com|access-date=August 14, 2021}}</ref>

'''Les Filles de Illighadad''' * Fatou Seidi Ghali - vocals, guitar * Alamnou Akrouni - vocals, percussion * Amaria Hamadlher - guitar, percussion * Abdoulaye Madassane - vocals, percussion

==References== {{Reflist}}

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Category:2021 live albums Category:Blues albums by Nigerian artists Category:Sahel Sounds live albums