Spring Break
New album proves Beirut is worth the hype
The gypsy rock band's latest release, 'The Flying Club Cup,' is a worthy follow up to 2006's 'The Gulag Orkestar.'
by Dan Orkin
Music | 10/2/07
Posted online at 9:56 PM EST on 10/1/07
/ Last updated at 3:19 AM EST on 10/1/07
At the tender age of 19, Albuquerque native Zach Condon released an album under the name Beirut called The Gulag Orkestar. The release was met with a hailstorm of hype from critics and bloggers of all walks, and quickly became one of the most talked-about albums of 2006. A little over a year, and three short EPs later, Beirut has gained 10 members and now gives us The Flying Club Cup, an album that shows that Condon's more than just a flash in the pan of the Internet buzz machine. His arrangements are more intricate, his melodies more haunting and his songs altogether more thoughtful and engaging. The Flying Club Cup reveals Condon to be an artist who has fully come into his own as a singular voice in the indie genre. Whereas The Gulag Orkestar was a good album that aptly displayed Condon's unique Balkan-infused sound and his indulgently crooning voice, The Flying Club Cup pushes his skill set to a level rarely achieved by any musician.
Beirut's distinctive sound rests primarily on the Eastern European arrangements and instrumentation that Condon perfects in this release. Each song is set to a frenzy of Balkan brass, accordions, mandolins and countless other instruments, all layered on top of ever-increasingly intricate tempos and rhythms. From the airy waltz of "A Sunday Smile," to the elaborate percussive drive of "In the Mausoleum," each of the album's 13 songs are so richly arranged that choosing highlights is near-impossible. Beirut represents the zenith of a specific indie sub category that vests much interest in the music of Eastern Europe or gypsy culture, typical examples being Gogol Bordello and DevoTchKa. Perhaps most important to the sub genre-and, for that matter, to the indie world in its entirety-is Jeff Mangum, the messianic front man of Neutral Milk Hotel, which included many Balkan elements in the seminal In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. More recently, Mangum has compiled a disc of field recordings from a traditional music festival in Bulgaria. Condon receives a fair share of (not unwarranted) comparison to Mangum. Yet while Mangum is a songwriter who includes Eastern European flourishes in his works, Condon is a songwriter who writes in the Eastern European style altogether.
Beirut's distinctive sound rests primarily on the Eastern European arrangements and instrumentation that Condon perfects in this release. Each song is set to a frenzy of Balkan brass, accordions, mandolins and countless other instruments, all layered on top of ever-increasingly intricate tempos and rhythms. From the airy waltz of "A Sunday Smile," to the elaborate percussive drive of "In the Mausoleum," each of the album's 13 songs are so richly arranged that choosing highlights is near-impossible. Beirut represents the zenith of a specific indie sub category that vests much interest in the music of Eastern Europe or gypsy culture, typical examples being Gogol Bordello and DevoTchKa. Perhaps most important to the sub genre-and, for that matter, to the indie world in its entirety-is Jeff Mangum, the messianic front man of Neutral Milk Hotel, which included many Balkan elements in the seminal In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. More recently, Mangum has compiled a disc of field recordings from a traditional music festival in Bulgaria. Condon receives a fair share of (not unwarranted) comparison to Mangum. Yet while Mangum is a songwriter who includes Eastern European flourishes in his works, Condon is a songwriter who writes in the Eastern European style altogether.
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