Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bigger Sound Equally Beguiling, 1 Nov 2007
During the summer Zach Condon (who is, essentially Beruit) discussed his forthcoming album saying it was, interesting how having the band was making a difference to the sound, that he was collaborating with someone who would provide string arrangements, and it was going to have a French feel about it. After the somewhat remarkable "Gulag Orkestra" this seemed an intriguing proposition.
Autum sees the release of the album and it is bigger sounding, imbued with strings, and at times steeped in French chanson. The fact that this is now a band is the most striking development. Where as Condon's debut had a somewhat homespun low-fi feel about it "The Flying Club Cup" has bigger, richer textures. Brass and strings rub shoulders with each other creating something deeper and warmer. The French influences give the album some sharp focus and the influence seems to have sharpened the writing which seems to have managed the difficult feat of improving still on what was a very solid foundation.
This is still, for all its exotic louchness, an album I would happily describe as an indie record. It is definately not world music as Condon takes the basic approaches and then builds his own sound around that. It may offend the world music purists in the approach but it's exactly what upset them last time around. The make or break of this album is the vocals, layered much more confident this time around they are definately something which may well make falling in love with this album difficult for some.
Yet there is much to love here, be it the rolling waltzes of "Cliquot", "Un Dernier Verre", or the title track, or the fact there is still a dash or the Balkan folk which dominated the first album. The neat arrangements, subtle strings and the vocals - at times sounding like a chior of Condons - make this a compelling if different listen. If you like the sonic ambitions of Arcade Fire, the warmth of Sufjan Stevens, and the richness of The Magnetic Fields then this album might well be just what you're looking for.
With so many artists faced with second album expectations rising into the stratosphere, it is nice to find someone who has managed to get their sophomore effort not only out quickly but with something which really builds on the promise shown. It's beguiling and beautiful, with a touch of the exotic about it. There are some great songs here too. Like Paris, the place which inspired so much of it, this is, for some, easy to fall in love with.
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What melody will see him in my arms again?, 12 Oct 2007
Beirut have always been all about Europe. Ever since Zach Condon started mingling electronica and indie-rock with traditional East-European music, his little band has been redolent of the old world.
And though "The Flying Club Cup" has a more modern flavour to some of its songs, the feeling of wistful, melancholy nostalgia still hangs heavily over these exquisitely orchestrated pop tunes. Think early twentieth-century France, as seen through sepia photographs and a band's sad tunes.
It opens with a haunting chorus of wailing horns, before switching to the smooth, swaying melody of "Nantes." Condon sings mournfully, "Well it's been a long time/long time now/since I've seen you smile/and I'll gamble away my fright... and in a year, a year or so/this will slip into the sea..."
It's much the same throughout the remaining songs, which tend to be bittersweet in tone, with a backdrop of horns and stately pop rhythms. Mellow dance tunes, Eastern European marches, mournful accordion-piano ballads, and pretty folky tunes. Not to mention, of course, combinations of all of the above.
In the second half, we're even graced with some upbeat songs -- the twittering violin and swirling melody of "In The Mausoleum." And the sprightliest music on the album is "Un Dernier Verre (Pour La Route)," a peppy pop tune that sounds like something Snoopy would dance to as the World War I flying ace.
If I were to compare Condon and Beirut to any other artist, it would probably be Sufjan Stevens -- polished, multilayered music with rich vocals. But the music of "The Flying Club Cup" is all nostalgia, bittersweet and weariness, mingled with a rich, over-the-top quality. It's so much BIGGER than Beirut's past work -- in sound, in scope, in feeling.
Not to mention that the sound here is a bit less Balkan -- think electro-indie mingled with vintage pop melodies, then filtered through an old French radio. Lots of mellow accordion, mingled brass, rattling drums and tambourine, an acoustic guitar, some twittery fiddle melodies and a nimble, energetic piano. Here are there, a gentle layer of keyboard is laid over it all.
Condon's voice is the clincher -- this guy is not only a great musician, but he has a smooth, rich voice that slides through the music like a satin ribbon. And his songs are evocative and stirring ("A plague on the workhouse!"), with plenty of feeling ("what melody will lead my lover from his bed?/What melody will see him in my arms again?").
Beirut's second album is a stunning artistic triumph, draped in classic melodies, exquisite songwriting and sweeping instrumentation. "The Flying Club Cup" flies on its own.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The seductive sounds of Zach Condon, 15 Jan 2008
Initially I was nervous when I heard the opening drone of Zach Condon's new album, I guess it's always a tense moment when you release your second album after the critical success of your first. I suppose the track title (`Call To Arms') for those 20 seconds or so of a single note is meant to be symbolic of such an undertaking, but then once it passed and I heard the opening of `Nantes' I knew we would be in safe territory, and that's not a bad thing. As safe as The Flying Club Cup maybe, Condon seems to know exactly what people want to hear (or maybe it's just exactly what I want to hear), and then he gives it to them - even the seductive cover of an old French photograph makes me want to love this album. The use of a full band on this album undoubtedly makes it more focused than last year's almost solo effort, and Condon's clearly been working on his lyrics a bit. Perhaps they are less vague than those of Gulag Orkestar, and a touch on the romantic side `A Sunday smile we wore if for a mile / A Sunday mile we paused and sang', but if I'm honest, I don't pay particular attention to what he's singing about. At most, I catch a short phrase, like `I built my house of reeds' at the start of the final track and heh - maybe it appeals to my romantic side too, but I find what comes next so enthralling I don't think I could care less what he was singing about. In the end, if we're going to have one guilty pleasure this year, it may as well sound this good - there's nothing special about what he does, but that doesn't matter - no-one else seems to be able to do it in quite the same way.
Highlights: Nantes, Cliquot, The Flying Club Cup
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