Album: Gulag Orkestar
Artist: Beirut
Born: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Released: May 2006
Genre: Folk
Zach Condon has carved out a unique space for himself in modern music by imaginatively reinterpreting various regional traditions (notably Balkan folk, French chansons and Mexican mariachi). Combined with his falsetto voice and wistful lyrics, the effect is some of the most beautiful but melancholy music of modern times. Choosing one of the three LPs that Beirut has put out so far is no easy task, given how consistently brilliant the output has been, but I'm still most partial to the band's first record, Gulag Orkestar. The Eastern European title and the Balkan folk sound were inspired by Condon's travels across the continent, but his interest in exotic music started at a much younger age, from growing up in Santa Fe near the Mexican border and working at a cinema that showed international films. Beirut certainly wasn't the first indie group to find success with a Gypsy folk sound, with Neutral Milk Hotel and Gogol Bordello the trailblazers in this respect, but Condon's music has a gentler, richer sound. Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeremy Barnes (drums, accordion) and A Hawk & A Hacksaw's Heather Trost (violin) both feature on this album, giving it the same dreamy brass sound as In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. There's no doubt that Postcards From Italy is the standout track on the record, in fact it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.
Zach Condon has carved out a unique space for himself in modern music by imaginatively reinterpreting various regional traditions (notably Balkan folk, French chansons and Mexican mariachi). Combined with his falsetto voice and wistful lyrics, the effect is some of the most beautiful but melancholy music of modern times. Choosing one of the three LPs that Beirut has put out so far is no easy task, given how consistently brilliant the output has been, but I'm still most partial to the band's first record, Gulag Orkestar. The Eastern European title and the Balkan folk sound were inspired by Condon's travels across the continent, but his interest in exotic music started at a much younger age, from growing up in Santa Fe near the Mexican border and working at a cinema that showed international films. Beirut certainly wasn't the first indie group to find success with a Gypsy folk sound, with Neutral Milk Hotel and Gogol Bordello the trailblazers in this respect, but Condon's music has a gentler, richer sound. Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeremy Barnes (drums, accordion) and A Hawk & A Hacksaw's Heather Trost (violin) both feature on this album, giving it the same dreamy brass sound as In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. There's no doubt that Postcards From Italy is the standout track on the record, in fact it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.
That lovely ukulele strumming that opens the song and the trumpet blast at the end are both played by Condon to stirring effect. I remember the first time I heard Beirut play the song live, at Glastonbury's Jazz World Stage in 2007, and Condon somehow managed to perform both parts very well despite being blind drunk. I also saw him again, much more recently at Green Man 2014, and his performance was a lot more assured but no less entertaining. I'm always in awe of multi-instrumentalists like Condon and Sufjan Stevens, who can switch seamlessly from strumming chords to blasting brass, while also singing and remembering all the lyrics. Highlights on this record include the hazy vocals of Prenzlauerberg, the emotional Scenic World and the stunning melodies of Rhineland (Heartland), the song that comes closest to matching Postcards From Italy for intensity. There's no doubt that Condon's songwriting has improved on later albums, especially The Rip Tide, but Gulag Orkestar still has the most evocative sound for my liking. Condon has since moved beyond Gypsy folk into Gallic chansons and Zapotec brass, but I feel like his two most recent LPs are just refinements of the first. He's also stretched his boundaries via collaborations, notably with Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) on Flying Club Cup and Sharon Von Etten on The Rip Tide, but his melancholy croon and virtuoso playing remain brilliant and unchanged.
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