G R A N D E Z
G R A N D E Z/ /
EP: Beirut – March Of The Zapotec
words: Jamie Milton
Just for the record, in case you went straight to reading this thinking we’d be reviewing both EP’s at once, that’s not the case. Here we’re solely looking at the first half of the double EP release.
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An instant comparison: with ‘The Flying Club Cup’ we were slowly drawn in with ‘A Call To Arms’, an easeful, perhaps purposeless 20-second opener. ‘El Zócalo’ sort of performs the same job only this time we’re welcomed by a fade in, which suggests that we’re interrupting things. Furthermore, it suggests that Zach Condon and his latest recruits had b
een getting carried away with themselves and someone finally decided to press record. Of course that’s probably not what happened but it’s an authentic enough half a minute to lure you into the cultured world of Beirut.
“So long, my fate has changed” declares Condon during ‘The Akara’, speaking on behalf of an unidentified ‘mistress’. But ultimately these words could be coming from the deep waters in the head of the man himself. Being to some extent presumptious, ‘Beirut’ as a project has been much more vulnerable since the release of the act’s second album. Condon, frustratingly revealed the difficulties in managing a huge band and taking them on tour with him. But hang on, here he returns with 19 brass-equipped men from Mexico, all swimmingly following Condon’s lead. Somewhere along this seemingly tricky journey, Condon found the situation of recording music on such a large scale, addictive.
‘March of the Zapotec’ feels more like a warming up than anything. ‘La Llorona’ can suddenly kick off into a bold frenzy all it wants, ‘The Shrew’ can sound as dainty and as jolly as it pleases, the eventual feeling you get is that surely, there’s more the man can give. What can you expect but more from a man so young, so committed to creating fine music with such consistently impressive final results?
6.5
mp3: Beirut – The Shrew (zshare)
[Buy 'March Of The Zapotec']
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