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Beirut, "Gulag Orkestar"
Zach Condon has been hailed as a genius and practically drooled upon since Gulag Orkestar was released. He deserves it in part, any 19 year old musician with this kind of talent deserves to be recognized for his achievements. With A Hawk and a Hacksaw in tow, Condon has written one of the most attractive, if flawed, pop records of 2006.
Ba Da Bing!
I know this is eastern European music wrapped up inside a western mind, but this is a pop record of the most elegant and subtle kind. It's alluring because its roots are Balkan. It is inviting because Condon, along with Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost, write and perform beautiful songs filled with romantic and energetic particles. It is somewhat familiar because Condon, at times, wears his Stephin Merritt badge on his sleeve, conjuring up happy sentiments of The Magnetic Fields while crooning in a low, surprisingly full voice. If there is any doubt about any of this, just look at the songs everyone is talking about. "Postcards from Italy" is probably one of the most downloaded songs from the album and I've seen the Fields-ish "Scenic World" mentioned all across the internet. Condon has definitely struck a chord with a lot of people, but this is also clearly the work of a 19 year old male who's as stunned by this world full of music. Just as stunned, I imagine, as many are by his efforts in bringing the world of music to us.
Some songs, such as the impressive and militaristic "Bratislava" seem overdone, made to be foreign by effort instead of by happy chance or familiarity. It's a nice enough song on its own, but when stacked against the stunning "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)" and Condon's superlative vocal performance on that song it sounds like it belongs in a circus more so than on this album. Also, the songs where Condon attempts to tune down the exotic characteristics of his music ("Scenic World" and "After the Curtain") sound out of place next to the grandeur of the trumpets, marches, and stomps that are the immediate attractions of Gulag Orkestar. Perhaps other bands have succeeded in melding Western pop music with all the heat and passion that's so obvious in the music of gypsies and mysterious cultures, but Condon hasn't quite developed a knack for it, yet.
That will not keep me from wondering at this odd little album, though. The sultry, celebratory tone Gulag Orkestar has on a whole is smile inducing, worthy of dances and cartoonish facial expressions. The music is romantic and sexy and very wondrous in general, like a child seeing the world for the first time and falling in love with all of it.
Indeed, much of the album sparkles with an innocent charm. Condon's lyrical prowess may not be akin to a great poet's, but his passion for the music is undeniable. The way he utilizes his voice is spectacular and worth buying the album for. This isn't a perfect album and it isn't as groundbreaking as some would have you think, but it is a very good album that stands out among so many other evidently excellent releases this year. Condon should be applauded for being so daring and so goddamned talented. Anyone capable of taking ethnic music and handling it so deftly should be recognized simply because most people who try it end up spoiling their music and insulting the ethnic music they were so fond of to begin with.
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