I never fell hard for Beirut the way a lot of bloggers did – the endless Neutral Milk Hotel references felt like they were grasping at straws, and it seemed like a lot of fuss about one very good song accompanied by a bunch of interesting but not spectacular ones.
Postcards from Italy – Beirut
That said, this song is really, really good. And it demonstrates that Zach Condon has loads of talent, a gift for poetic imagery, and big dreams. The rest of his work doesn’t manage to live up, but he’s still very young, and I think we can expect more great things to come. I haven’t seen Beirut live, but I’ve heard good things.
One more track, the SXSW free download:
Elephant Gun – Beirut
This is a fairly representative example of his non “Postcards From Italy” work. When he’s on (around 1:20, for example) he creates sonic landscapes as well as anyone.
I haven’t seen Beirut live, but from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty fantastic. Check out for yourself Wednesday, March 14 at 10:00 p.m. at Emo’s Main Room (603 Red River St).