"While it may sound like an entire Balkan gypsy orchestra playing modern songs as mournful ballads and upbeat marches, Beirut's first album, Gulag Orkestar, is largely the work of one 19-year-old Albuquerque native, Zach Condon, with assistance by Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel, A Hawk and a Hacksaw) and Heather Trost (A Hawk and a Hacksaw). Horns, violins, cellos, ukuleles, mandolins, glockenspiels, drums, tambourines, congas, organs, pianos, clarinets and accordions (no guitars on this album!) all build and break the melodies under Condon's deep-voiced crooner vocals, swaying to the Eastern European beats like a drunken 12-member ensemble that has fallen in love with The Magnetic Fields, Talking Heads and Neutral Milk Hotel"
Bloggers are falling over themselves re: who heard Beirut first, but that shit matters not-- when something's this interesting (and the act's making it available for public consumption), folks are bound to hear it. That aside, one of the best tracks from fresh-faced, 19-year-old, multi-instrumentalist Zach Condon's debut makes like Rufus Wainwright donning a Russian military hat to front A Hawk And a Hacksaw.
Jeff Mangum's crew's been name-dropped too, because the kids want a savior-- no coincidence considering Neutral Milk Hotel/Hacksaw player Jeremy Barnes is on board, here handling drums, and contributing an armload of sounds elsewhere (along with Hacksaw partner Heather Trost). One also assumes Condon borrowed Barnes' trumpet and accordion. Supposing for a moment the young man possesses as intriguing a mind and presence as Mangum, and taking into account his historically inspired lyrics that linger like poetry, this stunning spring-to-summer gypsy-cum-klezmer pop becomes something much bigger. For now, though, let's call it beautiful and disarming. [Brandon Stosuy]
4.5/5.0
Last edited by psychobain on Sat Oct 21, 2006 7:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:40 am Posts: 5773 Location: S. MPLS
imo no, not really my thing at all...
and i LOVE NMH (and A Hawk And A Hacksaw somewhat)
can understand what people hear in it though i suppose...
sounds much more authentic Eastern European/Czech folk than it sounds like NMH imo
i just find it funny when something like this catches on w/ bloggers/hipsters, because i guarantee you if you went to say Croatia or the Czech Republic, music like this is a dime a dozen over there (granted without the pop melodies at times)
pretty impressive that the kid is like 18 or 19 tho
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:40 am Posts: 5773 Location: S. MPLS
my friend saw them last night opening for Sunset Rubdown & Frog Eyes in NYC and said they were pretty cool live tho, he's not too big on the record either
I really like it. I don't know that it's amazing or anything, but it's enjoyable music and I could see this kid making some amazing records in the future.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
this sounds interesting.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
I really like it. I don't know that it's amazing or anything, but it's enjoyable music and I could see this kid making some amazing records in the future.
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