ARTIST:
BEIRUT


ALBUM:
THE RIP TIDE


KEY TRACKS:
THE PEACOCK
EAST HARLEM
SANTA FE
PAYNE'S BAY




"he's the only one that knows the words"


You know you've found something special when the very sound of a song takes you to a place or strikes a particular emotion deep down.  Beirut has the extraordinary ability to do that to me.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a deep affection for this band.  I love, love, love them.  This is music with an old soul.  


Zach Condon's symphony of horns, ukeleles, accordions, and pianos bring to mind the  -glory of old world Europe.  He understands the history of a place.  And It's this nostalgia that has always elevated Beirut to the top of my musical tastes.


At 17, Zach Condon dropped out of high school, went to Europe, (drunkenly) wandered place to place with gypsies, and brought back with him the unique sound of the Balkans.  Because of this, Beirut always leaves me with this grand sense of adventure.  But The Rip Tide offers something a bit different than previous Beirut albums.  Instead of singing the praises of Venice, Bratislava, and Cherbourg etc Zach Condon is writing about Santa Fe and East Harlem.  He has crafted an album devoted to his homeland: America.


So what does America sound like?  Well, strangely subtle...and clocking in at 33 minutes, this album is practically minimalist.  Normally such a small playtime would leave me dissatisfied, yet this album is short and sweet.  Not to mention it's been years since Beirut dropped a new album or toured so I'll take it. 

I was fortunate enough to see Beirut twice this year and
snapped this shot at Bonnaroo 2011.

As mentioned previously, The Rip Tide is unusually subtle in composition.  Which could be a sign of Condon's changing tastes or perhaps the fact that he recorded it in upstate New York in the middle of winter.  I would imagine that winter in the country doesn't exactly inspire the feelings of wild gypsy parties we're accustomed to hearing from Condon.  


Certainly a somberness can be heard on tracks like  Goshen, The Riptide, and the crown jewel of this album:  The Peacock.  I adore this track.  What a wonderful, wonderful, little gem that is an ode to old Beirut.  Condon's rich voice gently croons amidst the sounds of fading horns "in a city where nobody hears, a bird calls fine fine winters here again".  The imagery of this track, and the instrumentals alongside it are spectacular.  For me, this is  one of those songs that makes me move a little slower to take it in.  Not many tracks do that to me.


Most of the other songs are upbeat like the lovely string and horn-heavy Payne's Bay, peppy accordions in A Candle's Fire, and the bouncing electronics in Santa Fe - a tribute to Condon's hometown.  


Overall, this album was an interesting listen, not just because it's Beirut, but because it's shown me that Zack Condon has a real knack for pop songs.  And though I love those old-world Balkan tunes that made him famous, Beirut's new pop direction is still very much a pleasing sound in my ears.  

LISTEN:  THE PEACOCK  |  EAST HARLEM  |  SANTA FE  |  PAYNE'S BAY

NEXT WEEK:  ST. VINCENT  |  STRANGE MERCY