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After the widely acclaimed 2007 album The Flying Club Cup, which hit many album of the year lists including the NME, Uncut, Q, The Sun and The Telegraph, the extremely talented young songwriter and musician Zach Condon returns with his third record under the guise of Beirut. The full-length album entitled March Of The Zapotec is comprised of two EPs. The first, and album namesake, is a foray into Mexican folk music with the help of an obscure small-town Mexican funeral band. The second is Holland, a bedroom electro-synth pop wonder, originally an idea for Zach s previous incarnation before Beirut, when he went by the name of Realpeople. For the past year, Beirut has alternated between touring and writing new material, Zach recording in any style that struck his fancy. Some early discussions about doing some soundtrack recording for a film being shot in Mexico morphed into a new idea... What about hiring a local Mexican band to help record some songs based on new material? After finding the band through a friend s mother, hiring a translator, and catching a plane down to Oaxaca, Zach made his way out to the tiny weaver village of Teotitlan del Valle, where he met the nineteen members of The Jimenez Band. Combined, these two EPs in the shape of an album represent the totality of Zach Condon's work over the past year. It is further testament towards the inventiveness and intimacy he creates as Beirut, a band which started as one person sounding like twelve and has developed over the past few years to distinguish itself with a particular style and sound. No matter what inspirations jumpstart one song to the next, the undercurrent that continues to emerge is the realization that Zach Condon is indeed a singular artist creating his very own vision of the world s sound. And whether he's being inspired by Balkan folk, French chanteuse, Mexican troubadour, '80s synth pop or '90s house, the common thread remains Zach's ability to make a simple melody sound both artistically unique and endlessly familiar. March of the Zapotec marks the continuing emergence of a musician who has only shown an inkling of where he is headed. And while the road may be long, every stop along the way is filled with its own treats.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Condon remains a precocious talent on this split release. I expected each CD to be complete albums, but the split has not been approved for length reasons, rather style differences. Weighing it at no more than 40 minutes for the two releases strongly indicate that these are pills to be taken simultaneously, despite their differences.
`March Of The Zapotec' continues the Mexican death-march stylings, plodding brass and all, and it refrains from such heavy harpsichord-embracing as heard on The Flying Club Cup and again weaves a little gypsy square-dance into the rich tapestry. So far, so Beirut. Whilst it would be hard to argue that `March ...' is as exciting as Gulag Orkestar, it is still a very listenable collection.
`Holland' showcases Condon's latent talent being a composed collection of bedroom electronica recorded under his early-teen moniker of Realpeople. The sound is as warm as elsewhere and his voice so welcome a spanning of the material that it ties the two halves together seamlessly, as does the slight legacy of harpsichord!
I have read someone wittier than I describe `Holland' as the most foreign of Beirut's current repertoire, which is peculiar for an American called Beirut and equally influenced by Mexican brass, French harpsichord and Balkan dance. However, I do see his point, the electronica is complimentary without argument, completely unobtrusive, but it feels less special and that disappointment felt is foreign to Condon's work to date.
`March Of The Zapotec' continues the Mexican death-march stylings, plodding brass and all, and it refrains from such heavy harpsichord-embracing as heard on The Flying Club Cup and again weaves a little gypsy square-dance into the rich tapestry. So far, so Beirut. Whilst it would be hard to argue that `March ...' is as exciting as Gulag Orkestar, it is still a very listenable collection.
`Holland' showcases Condon's latent talent being a composed collection of bedroom electronica recorded under his early-teen moniker of Realpeople. The sound is as warm as elsewhere and his voice so welcome a spanning of the material that it ties the two halves together seamlessly, as does the slight legacy of harpsichord!
I have read someone wittier than I describe `Holland' as the most foreign of Beirut's current repertoire, which is peculiar for an American called Beirut and equally influenced by Mexican brass, French harpsichord and Balkan dance. However, I do see his point, the electronica is complimentary without argument, completely unobtrusive, but it feels less special and that disappointment felt is foreign to Condon's work to date.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Anyone who has had the (dubious) opportunity to know me even just a
little will understand that I have always been a sucker for a maverick.
Zack Condon is just such a creature and like him I
have always harboured a love for small town bands.
The Salvation Army brass octet shivering in a cold Canterbury
shopping precinct at christmas; the group of minstrels playing
ancient instruments at a festival in the idyllic village of
St Felix-de-Caraman (with the ghosts of a thousand Cathars
listening in the wings); the town band of Cortina d'Ampezzo
in the Dolomites, who every summer Sunday night are, weather
permitting, as adept at playing a brazen Alpine oompah song
as they are Gioachino Rossini's William Tell overture.
Mr Condon's love affair with the bands he discovered in Oaxaca,
Mexico are clear evidence of a kindred spirit.
In his sojourn(s) there he has lovingly and enthusiastically
absorbed a culture and it's music as well as having been
absorbed by it. It is a strange but perfect love affair.
The two discs contained in this release display a passionate
and wayward imagination.
Disc one, 'March Of The Zapotec', coming in at around an
economical sixteen minutes, is an exuberant sonic tapestry
and memory of his Mexican experiences.
Opening with an unknown band's raucous performance of a piece
entitled 'El Zocalo' (a town square), the six tracks set out
before us here are both an assimilation of and a tribute to
the art of public social performance.
Aided occasionally by the prodigiously gifted Band Jiminez,
Mr Condon's haunting voice and multi-instrumental skills are
richly evocative of his muse.
The sprightly 3/4 tempo of final piece 'The Shrew' is a thing
of unadulterated manic joy.
If you like trumpets (and euphoniums and mandolins and accordions)
you will not be disappointed.
The spirit of David Byrne is never far away and that is no bad thing.
Disc two is an altogether more interior affair. Those in the know
have confided that these five additional compositions were
conceived within the solitary confines of our hero's bedroom.
I feel that it would be somewhat impertinent to speculate about
Mr Condon's private doodlings but we should all be grateful for
the deeply rewarding outcome of his labours.
The obliquely titled 'Realpeople Holland' is a graceful
and witty take on contemporary electronica.
Closing track 'No Dice' is a simple instrumental slice of
synth-led disco heaven, so brimful of warm and tingly
love-feelings that it can barely contain itself.
A very special recording indeed. This boy with a
bad haircut is the real deal.
Totally Lovely.
little will understand that I have always been a sucker for a maverick.
Zack Condon is just such a creature and like him I
have always harboured a love for small town bands.
The Salvation Army brass octet shivering in a cold Canterbury
shopping precinct at christmas; the group of minstrels playing
ancient instruments at a festival in the idyllic village of
St Felix-de-Caraman (with the ghosts of a thousand Cathars
listening in the wings); the town band of Cortina d'Ampezzo
in the Dolomites, who every summer Sunday night are, weather
permitting, as adept at playing a brazen Alpine oompah song
as they are Gioachino Rossini's William Tell overture.
Mr Condon's love affair with the bands he discovered in Oaxaca,
Mexico are clear evidence of a kindred spirit.
In his sojourn(s) there he has lovingly and enthusiastically
absorbed a culture and it's music as well as having been
absorbed by it. It is a strange but perfect love affair.
The two discs contained in this release display a passionate
and wayward imagination.
Disc one, 'March Of The Zapotec', coming in at around an
economical sixteen minutes, is an exuberant sonic tapestry
and memory of his Mexican experiences.
Opening with an unknown band's raucous performance of a piece
entitled 'El Zocalo' (a town square), the six tracks set out
before us here are both an assimilation of and a tribute to
the art of public social performance.
Aided occasionally by the prodigiously gifted Band Jiminez,
Mr Condon's haunting voice and multi-instrumental skills are
richly evocative of his muse.
The sprightly 3/4 tempo of final piece 'The Shrew' is a thing
of unadulterated manic joy.
If you like trumpets (and euphoniums and mandolins and accordions)
you will not be disappointed.
The spirit of David Byrne is never far away and that is no bad thing.
Disc two is an altogether more interior affair. Those in the know
have confided that these five additional compositions were
conceived within the solitary confines of our hero's bedroom.
I feel that it would be somewhat impertinent to speculate about
Mr Condon's private doodlings but we should all be grateful for
the deeply rewarding outcome of his labours.
The obliquely titled 'Realpeople Holland' is a graceful
and witty take on contemporary electronica.
Closing track 'No Dice' is a simple instrumental slice of
synth-led disco heaven, so brimful of warm and tingly
love-feelings that it can barely contain itself.
A very special recording indeed. This boy with a
bad haircut is the real deal.
Totally Lovely.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Some reviewers have suggested that the juxtaposition of the very "Beiriuty" Zapotec EP with the bedroom electronica of the Holland release doesn't work. I have to disagree: both are recognisably the work of the insanely talented Zach Condon and whilst I thought they might jar when played one after the other (which is presumably why we're given them as two separate CDs) they actually complement each other rather well. If you liked the previous Beirut releases then I see no reason why you wouldn't take this to your heart just the same.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
I love this
I love this, but I haven't found many people who share my love, it's pretty odd, I'll grant them that. I think it's genius and it will always be on my ipod!
Published 15 months ago by F Reay
The best indie album of 2009
Balcan-mexican inspiration for Zac Condon, this time. Full mature album, characterized by orginality and professionality. No one has done such a work, until now. Great! Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2010 by A. Fiori
The waves in your eyes
For the record, "March of the Zapotec/Holland" is not an album. It's two EPs.
For that matter, it's not really Beirut as you know it -- apparently Zach Condon has been... Read more
For that matter, it's not really Beirut as you know it -- apparently Zach Condon has been... Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2009 by E. A Solinas
Not too hot
As a pretty big fan of Beirut I rushed out to Amazon to get this as soon as I knew about it - that was about a month or so ago and I've played the CD just twice. Read more
Published on 1 May 2009 by Stuart Harrison
More innovation from Condon
The word Beirut conjures up (admittedly, stereotypical) images of sultry nights, bustling bazaars shrouded in a haze of incense and dancers gyrating their midriffs to the sound of... Read more
Published on 28 April 2009 by Mr. Gideon D. Brody
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