beirut

2 for 2, huh? After the gypsy fervor of Gulag Orkestar, I didn’t think Beirut had it in him to get another win, but The Flying Cub Cup is exactly that. And he did by doing a lot of the same things – in a completely different style.

That different style is chanson, lyric-driven French songs that found their greatest popular success in the early and mid 20th century via singers like Jacques Brel and Edith Piaf. So while Zach Condon brings his usual miserable wail of a voice (note: I like it a lot, but it is), he’s now backed by the hypnotic waltzing of piano, accordion and banjo. Along with Condon’s ever-present trumpet, of course.

National Geographic, in an introduction to chanson, says the following: “But despite the music’s intellectual propensities and frank, mordant observations about life and human nature, the impact of the carefully crafted wordplay is routinely compromised by sentimental, even syrupy, melodies.” Fantastic, I say. Because that’s exactly what makes Beirut great. Condon once again aims directly for the heartstrings and starts pulling them from the opening organ of “Nantes” to the fading ramshackle orchestra of the title track. If you liked Gulag Orkestar, you won’t have anything to worry about with The Flying Cub Cup. Download away.