Beirut – March of the Zapotec
Erm, this is fucking awful. I loved Beirut’s first two albums, and maybe if I hadn’t heard them I might think this was okay, but this is like watching your football team struggle against a non-league side. Partly it’s embarrassing, partly it’s frustrating as fuck, and partly you find yourself wondering what they’ll be like if they ever have to play someone decent ever again.
Had I never liked Beirut I wouldn’t care that this seems to have been phoned in from a beach resort in fucking Lanzarote, but it matters. Reviewers use terms like ‘no passion’ all the times, and it kind of gets on my nerves to be honest. Bad album or not, no artist doesn’t try, doesn’t care about their work , or just faxes in an album. Not until they’re the Rolling Stones, playing at writing a seventy-fourth piss-poor shitfest, but not on your third.
That said, I have some sympathy, because that is exactly what this sounds like. It sounds listless, lifeless, lazy, limp, tedious, tawdry, ter.. t… something that begins with t and means fucking pointless, anyway. I assume that this is not the case, but this sounds like he is just vacantly reproducing the same sounds as he has always done, albeit with a vaguely different stylistic sheen, without having bothered to take the time to write any songs to go with the sound. Peh. As I said, I assume that this cannot actually be the case, but believe me it is just what it sounds like.
Erm, so… well. I guess that Beirut have enough fans at the moment that most people will just buy this anyway, but I would recommened caution. In fact I would simply recommend not buying this album. It’s like pulling Brad Pitt, then unzipping his jeans to find the saddest little cocktail gherkin ever to disgrace a tawdry 80s wife-swapping cocktail party. And the electronics are fucking shit.
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I second that; it’s fruity shite. The sort of excrement that, for a brief moment, you think hmm, that actually smells like fruit – what have I been eating? It’s quite pleasant, actually until you realise that, no, it does not smell pleasant at all & it is, indeed, just shite.
Is the “t” word you’re looking for “turgid” or “torpid?” Worse than those, how about the word redundant? Beirut’s ongoing magical mystery world tour sounds like one big goulash now. The first album and EP were great; the second was so-so, but this one is ummm… Tepid? Tortuous? Tiresome? And you are so right about the electronics…WTF is up with that?
Talk about a vocabulary smackdown!
Turgid is my choice, I think.
I like turgid greatly, has always been one of my favourites. Haven’t even heard the first two Beirut albums, but blimely, this must be gash, because I haven’t seen a heavily negative review for a while Matthew..
(A heavily negative review on S,BT that is)
And another comment.. I’ll be at Trembling Bells on Friday night. Terrific.
Yes Ferg, it’s pretty weak I’m afraid. I’m looking forward to Friday – no idea what to expect, either.
jesus i think i must be very tired…..or the world has just gone fucking la la!!!
Friday? i’ll be having a take-away!!
i never got beruit anyways.
Seriously – is the whole album like this?
The first track is just the auto-accompaniment feature off a Casio home keyboard.
The second track is simply beyond taking the piss.
This is utterly ridiculous.
Oh fuck off, you pretentious cunts.
The whole thing is about this satisfying, yes. And to reiterate: I liked their first two. Actually, I loved the first one. And Lon Gisland was great too.
Gutted.
I actually got really quite annoyed listening to them.
I literally couldn’t believe my ears. I’ve never really listened to Beirut – but I’ve heard their name mentioned a great deal in the same sentence as bands I do like – and I was honestly genuinely offended by how bad these two songs turned out to be.
I was left feeling like this band are taking the piss out of fans of the alternative music genre they operate in themselves, and out of their contempories that they’re so readily associated with.
I’m even more interested to hear those earlier releases now.
They may just have been having a bad day at the office, of course.
or perhaps they are just over rated and always have been?!
I don’t know, it’s possible we heard more style than substance from their early stuff, but I still enjoy listening back to it.
I have one album – can’t remember which one – and I wouldn’t buy another. like you say it’s all style no substance for me.
That style was a lot more unusual back then, so I can see how it made such an impact. I’m not entirely sure I agree with you, but I definitely do not entirely disagree.
I wonder sometimes how well this Eastern European folk fetish will date, and I am reminded of the Pogues. Who else of their ilk do we still remember with any affection? The Waterboys maybe. Anyone else?
Oysterband, The Men They Couldn’t Hang maybe. Erm.. Levellers?
Oysterband? I don’t really think so, do you? And I love TMTCH but they aren’t really remembered outside a certain cult following. Irish folk-punk really has dropped off the map in a big way. Not that TMTCH were Irish at all, but then again, the Pogues weren’t all that Irish either, except in style.
I love The Oysterband! Holy Bandits had some great moments, as did The Shouting End Of Life. The title track of which, in my opinion, features one of the most heartfelt “Go fuck yourself”s ever commited to record.
TMTCH were as political as anyone else in the bunch – rivalling the l;ikes of Billy Bragg in many ways in that regard.
It’s not about whether they’re any good, I’m just saying that they are not exactly widely remembered. Possibly more so than TMTCH, but I’m not sure there’s much in it. Quite a vanishing act for a movement which had so much momentum at the time.
I hate to say it, but you’re probably right.
Wow. I won’t bother piling on. But wow.
Wonderful that you guys hate it that much… just proves that real musical challenges isn’t something that mediocre music critics can understand. Just leaves the good stuff to all the rest of us. Jesus! Fair enough if you don’t like the new, and appreciate the old stuff. But listen to it at least 10 times before casting your verdict.
Condon isn’t making music to please the public – unlike most bands who are heard all over the world these days. He actually HAS something to say – and tries to say it in new and innovative ways. Making an album from the context of Mexican Funeral music isn’t something you hear everyday- Add to that, he has been going through a period of transition. Re-casting the previous records, and pulling out some of his oldest material from before Beirut is okay, in some sense. I think it’s interesting to hear his voice in an electronic setting (and just consider that “Scenic World” and “After the Curtain” from “Gulag Orchestra” are basically as electronic as the new stuff).
But do I think that the new stuff is as good as the 3 previous records? Hardly….