Following The Flying Club Cup and a series of world tours comes Zach Condon’s highly anticipated March of the Zapotech / Holland EP due February 17 on Ba Da Bing Records. What you’ll find underneath the Moroccan inspired album sleeve is not a proper or predictable Beirut release, but one-half foreign collaboration and the other, early bedroom recordings.
March of the Zapotec finds Condon placing his French chansons from Flying Club Cup on the shelf alongside the Balkan beats of Gulag Orkestar to continue his globetrotting lifestyle. This time around, Condon begins by scoring a film in Oaxaca, Mexico, but as the work falls through he discovers the local flavor and decides to record several brass-heavy arrangements. Accompanied by The Jimenez Band, a 17-person funeral group from Teotitlan del Valle, just outside of Oaxaca, Condon manages to maintain a worldly inspiration that retains comfortable familiarity to previous albums. Although there are no immediate hooks along the sounds of “Postcards From Italy” or “Elephant Gun,” Zapotec captures a unique passion within the nature of Condon’s work and offers mesmerizing naïve movements unlike anything from The Flying Club Cup or Gulag. “The Akara,” marked by layers of warm tumbling brass and a grand execution of vocals each constructed to careen over a minor chord ukulele presents one of Beirut’s finest compositions to date. Complemented by “The Shrew,” a six-year work-in-progress, Condon successfully exhibits organic beauty and provides a flawless conclusion to March of the Zapotec.
Credited to Realpeople – a pre-Beirut moniker – is the epic synth-pop wonder of Holland. Marking Condon’s “coming into music” stage, this side of the EP plays the role of a collective resting place for earlier electronic material. Recorded sporadically in Condon’s parents’ home over several years this alter ego was never meant to see commercial release, but after listening it’s encouraged that this dichotomy continues. “My Night with the Prostitute From Marseille” delivers an enthralling ostinado while “Venice” is no less than an electronic magnum opus. “No Dice,” a Euro-pop influenced dance number with plenty of remix and dance floor potential, provides enough energy to send Condon through his current world tour and serves as a magnificent conclusion for this diverse and astounding obra maestra.
This is not a clue as to the direction of the third Beirut album, but a flavorsome indulgence for our palette while we wait. Until then, there is March of the Zapotec and Holland, both stunning and remarkable achievements to tack up on where you vacationed in ’09.
Beirut – La Llorona
Realpeople – Venice
Of note: Chris Taylor from Grizzly Bear plays sax on Zapotec’s “On A Bayonet.”
to keep myself out of “trouble”, i must credit that i wrote this review for the new school free press
