photo courtesy of SMH.com
by Garland Joseph
The long wait for Beirut’s new album No No No is now over. We can finally enjoy songs such as August Holland and Perth. These songs and many others on this new album will bring quirky happiness to your day.
It has been four years since Beirut’s last album. Zach Condon, the leader of the band, hit a wall with his musical career. His struggles are evident in the lyrics he wrote.
“Well, there just wasn’t anything left to give,” Condon said in an interview with Philip Coroses. “What I was dealing with, it took every resource I had. So, I’d be coming home and staring at these instrumentals and feeling like I had no ideas left, and every time I did have an idea, I felt like I was just retreading The Rip Tide over and over again sonically, just totally lost. I was second-guessing and starting to doubt whether I’d be able to move forward at all, that this was the end creatively.”
In one song, Condon wrote, “Don’t know the first thing about who you are. My heart is waiting, taken in from the start. If we don’t go now, we won’t get very far.”
You can clearly see how Condon struggled to find his identity. This is something that most people have struggled with in their life.
Beirut’s alternative sound is inspired by jazz and eastern European gypsy style music. There are lot of horn instrumentals and rhythms similar to Turkish music. The instrumentals is accompanied by the soulful voice of Condon.
Beirut often names its songs after cities or regions. In in interview on World Cafe, Condon said, “What I use to say was ‘travel is fodder for the imagination’. That is absolutely true here (Turkey).”
Condon says his song “Fener,” which is also the name of a street he lived on, is about staring out the window of the apartment and looking down at the Marmis.
No No No is a great album for anyone who has struggled to find themselves. Those who travel and like alternative music will also enjoy it. The songs are filled with catchy tunes and upbeat rhythms that will make it hard not to listen to it over and over again.