the flying club cup, the new album from beirut, is the perfect way to drown out excited boston red sox fans while riding the train. not that i'm hating on red sox nation, not at all. to have horn arrangements, accordians, organs, xylophones and zach condon's crooning to go along w/ antics of overstimulated fans is actually the perfect soundtrack.
the flying club cup, zach condon's sophmore effort is impressive. at first listen it sounds very similiar to gulag orkestar, the debut from beirut. but after playing it a few times, it is now on heavy rotation. it is romantic and bittersweet. condon branches out a bit w/ a more orchestratic feel, not too far out but enough to make a difference. the album's instruments consist of a wide range of french horns, accordians and organs as opposed to his trumpet and ukelele that flooded gulag orkestar. the horn arrangements are epic, dramatic and warm fuzzy inducing. condon does a fantastic job at setting the ambiance and the gypsy feel w/ his lyrics and dramatic instrumental line up. it's definitely one of my favorite albums this year. on my favorite track cherbourg condon's wailing is intoxicating. he sings of alcoholism, gambling and letting days slip away while waiting for his lover to smile again. it's composition is emotionally stirring and sits w/ you long after the song has ended. but all of the flying club cup is like that. each song is a bit different, but never straying far from what beirut has come to be known for; audibly mesmerizing. this is definitely a must have album, even if you don't need to drown out the fans of your home team. go sox!!
* cherbourg by beirut
** first photo taken from wikipedia, second photo from i forget, third taken from www.dailylobo.com; credit eva dameron.
