by Alex Henderson
"World music" is a broad term that can encompass a lot of different styles, but it's about as specific a label as you can find to describe Outback, a very adventurous band that combines touches of Western folk, pop and rock with Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and African influences on the entirely instrumental Dance the Devil Away. One of the things that makes this CD so fresh-sounding is its combination of instruments -- for Outback, everything from mandolins and violins to the Moroccan luthar, the Chinese genju and the West African djembe is fair game. An instrument that's especially prominent on Dance the Devil Away is the didgeridoo, which was created by Aboriginal musicians in Australia -- with Outback, you never know if it's going to be combined with a European or North African instrument. This risk-taking CD is far from predictable.