2K7 in Review: My Favorite Albums, #4
Today, I humbly present the only band which made my top 5 for 2006 and returned for a spot there in '07...
4. Beirut, The Flying Club Cup (Ba-Da-Bing!)
Continuing the theme of the last couple of albums in this list, here is another ethnically-enhanced group, but one with some distinct differences. Beirut is a much quieter band than Gogol Bordello or Moonsorrow, and none of Beirut's members hails from the European soil in which its music is planted. It doesn't matter that they're Americans, as bandleader Zach Condon has such a global imagination, it's hard to believe he's just a 22 year-old kid from Albuquerque. The Eastern European folk duo A Hawk and a Hacksaw assisted Condon on Gulag Orkestar, his astounding 2006 debut as Beirut, but he mostly recorded it himself at his parents' house. Upon its summer release, the blogosphere sizzled in tribute to its arresting mix of Magnetic Fields-inspired indie pop and Balkan folk. By winter, the whirlwind of attention and touring had left Condon hospitalized with exhaustion. Yet he and his new eight-member group managed to get the Lon Gisland EP out before year's end, and two more shorties followed quickly in early '07 (Pompeii via internet sources, Elephant Gun in physical form). By the time the second Beirut long-player hit stores, Condon had already hinted that he was shifting focus away from gyrating gypsy rhythms. A distinctly French flavor had seeped into b-sides like "Napoleon on the Bellerophon" and "Transatlantique," and a live Jaques Brel cover - the same song that was hijacked for sappy '70s snoozer "Seasons in the Sun," actually - sealed it. As predicted, The Flying Club Cup sets its sights on another region, and its lush recording is certainly less ragged around the edges, but it swells with the same woozy, romantic juices that made the first Beirut disc such an instant winner. If anything, it's even more convincing than the celebrated debut.
Considering the full band now in tow and Condon's newfound fascination with the music and culture of France, it doesn't differ too much from Gulag except that its swooning strains more often evoke a lonely Parisian café than Borat weeping in his borscht. Well, the pumping accordion certainly does. Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy contributes lush string arrangements, adding to the disc's professional sheen and warm depth. The odd one-man-electro-pop tunes are also gone, making for a more consistent immersion (just like Gogol Bordello). At the top, "Nantes" offers gentle countermelodies from two separate groups of horns and a brief dialogue sample from some old French film during the interlude. Condon's David Byrne-on-absinthe croon assures the bittersweet waltz "Forks and Knives (La Fête)" resounds with ragged-edged warmth, while his quaver is absolutely heartbreaking on the downbeat beerhall sing-along "A Sunday Smile." Pallett, sounding like a soft rock radio version of Condon, takes lead vocals on the soaring "Cliquot," which concludes with a lovely swirl of strings, accordion and mariachi-like horns. Sure, many of the songs follow the ol' post-rock formula (quiet beginning/slow build/giant crescendo/quiet resolution), but Beirut remains intricate, erudite, adventuresome and sincere, and for all their ambition, they keep it concise. From the mandolin-dominated "The Penalty" to the moody, dramatic tango "In the Mausoleum," The Flying Club Cup is another must-hear masterpiece of worldly indie folk-pop, one that easily trumps The Arcade Fire's underwhelming (but much more hyped) sophomore album. This is music for drizzly afternoons, for congealed memories, for souls born in the wrong time and place.
No official videos were made for Beirut's The Flying Club Cup, but La Blogothèque filmed intimate performances of every song and posted them here. Also, here's a sweet bootleg performance from Toronto last October, which includes a guest we didn't get at the jam-packed Chicago show...
"Cliquot (feat. Owen Pallett)"
4. Beirut, The Flying Club Cup (Ba-Da-Bing!)Continuing the theme of the last couple of albums in this list, here is another ethnically-enhanced group, but one with some distinct differences. Beirut is a much quieter band than Gogol Bordello or Moonsorrow, and none of Beirut's members hails from the European soil in which its music is planted. It doesn't matter that they're Americans, as bandleader Zach Condon has such a global imagination, it's hard to believe he's just a 22 year-old kid from Albuquerque. The Eastern European folk duo A Hawk and a Hacksaw assisted Condon on Gulag Orkestar, his astounding 2006 debut as Beirut, but he mostly recorded it himself at his parents' house. Upon its summer release, the blogosphere sizzled in tribute to its arresting mix of Magnetic Fields-inspired indie pop and Balkan folk. By winter, the whirlwind of attention and touring had left Condon hospitalized with exhaustion. Yet he and his new eight-member group managed to get the Lon Gisland EP out before year's end, and two more shorties followed quickly in early '07 (Pompeii via internet sources, Elephant Gun in physical form). By the time the second Beirut long-player hit stores, Condon had already hinted that he was shifting focus away from gyrating gypsy rhythms. A distinctly French flavor had seeped into b-sides like "Napoleon on the Bellerophon" and "Transatlantique," and a live Jaques Brel cover - the same song that was hijacked for sappy '70s snoozer "Seasons in the Sun," actually - sealed it. As predicted, The Flying Club Cup sets its sights on another region, and its lush recording is certainly less ragged around the edges, but it swells with the same woozy, romantic juices that made the first Beirut disc such an instant winner. If anything, it's even more convincing than the celebrated debut.
Considering the full band now in tow and Condon's newfound fascination with the music and culture of France, it doesn't differ too much from Gulag except that its swooning strains more often evoke a lonely Parisian café than Borat weeping in his borscht. Well, the pumping accordion certainly does. Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy contributes lush string arrangements, adding to the disc's professional sheen and warm depth. The odd one-man-electro-pop tunes are also gone, making for a more consistent immersion (just like Gogol Bordello). At the top, "Nantes" offers gentle countermelodies from two separate groups of horns and a brief dialogue sample from some old French film during the interlude. Condon's David Byrne-on-absinthe croon assures the bittersweet waltz "Forks and Knives (La Fête)" resounds with ragged-edged warmth, while his quaver is absolutely heartbreaking on the downbeat beerhall sing-along "A Sunday Smile." Pallett, sounding like a soft rock radio version of Condon, takes lead vocals on the soaring "Cliquot," which concludes with a lovely swirl of strings, accordion and mariachi-like horns. Sure, many of the songs follow the ol' post-rock formula (quiet beginning/slow build/giant crescendo/quiet resolution), but Beirut remains intricate, erudite, adventuresome and sincere, and for all their ambition, they keep it concise. From the mandolin-dominated "The Penalty" to the moody, dramatic tango "In the Mausoleum," The Flying Club Cup is another must-hear masterpiece of worldly indie folk-pop, one that easily trumps The Arcade Fire's underwhelming (but much more hyped) sophomore album. This is music for drizzly afternoons, for congealed memories, for souls born in the wrong time and place.
No official videos were made for Beirut's The Flying Club Cup, but La Blogothèque filmed intimate performances of every song and posted them here. Also, here's a sweet bootleg performance from Toronto last October, which includes a guest we didn't get at the jam-packed Chicago show...
"Cliquot (feat. Owen Pallett)"
posted by SoulReaper at 7:36 PM
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