Zach Condon debuted his indie-folk project Beirut in 2005, and though he expanded it from a solo project to a full-fledged band in 2006, he’s continued to work with the same building blocks that made his earliest bedroom recordings so beguiling: sparse ukulele strumming, ornate horn arrangements influenced by eastern European folk music, and arresting vocals that strike a balance between heavenly and funereal. The most noticeable musical evolution on Beirut’s brand-new fifth album, Gallipoli (4AD), is the addition of synthetic, waterlogged Farfisa notes, which open the title track. Through Condon and his collaborators occasionally sound stuck in a rut, there’s plenty of euphoria to be found in the record’s small details. When the syncopated piano loop on “Gauze für Zah” bleeds into stirring wordless vocal harmonies, it’s clear Beirut haven’t forgotten how to enchant. v
Indie-folk outfit Beirut haven’t lost their touch on Gallipoli
