Gulag Orkestar - Beirut

You would be forgiven for thinking that the man behind Beirut had lived a life of toil, speckled with a few grains of love and hope here and there. You would also be forgiven for thinking that such a man was of middle age, living somwhere Balkan-like on a farm, meeting regularly with other like minded folks in a run down bar to produce the wonderful Balkan orchestral sounds found on Gulag Orkestar. The truth is that Beirut essentially is a 21 year old American by the name of Zach Condon. Originally a solo project, Zach and his touring band of gypsy-like musicians have come up with a sound so alien to the kind of music you think he should be making is beyond ...  Read the complete review

Gulag Orkestar is Beirut's debut album and was released in 2006 by Ba Da Bing. Beirut despite sounding like several band members is the sole work of Zach Condon. Beirut are often bracketed in to the New York Balkan scene which tends to include the likes of Firewater, Gogol Bordello, Tamir Muskat and Devotchka. I recently did a review of Devotchka's album A Mad and Faithful Telling, unfortunately I'm going to give Beirut a similar description in that the vocalist sounds an awful lot like the droaning whingeing Thom Yorke, only here the artist faces much more criticism as I think to myself "Shut up you moaning sod" when I hear it. Whilst ...  Read the complete review