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By: Jan Bunny
Date: 15th Nov 06
Release: Album
To Cure: A predictable playlist
What:
Gulag Orkestar (2006)
Who:
Beirut
On:
Remote Control
Myspace:
here
For many, who have been put off horns and all things Gypsy by the likes of The Cat Empire, Beirut's debut album Gulag Orkestar is less about imitating as it is about imagining. Created by a 19-year Brooklynite Zach Condon, this album is about the ‘suspension of disbelief' rather than any claim of authenticity. The dusty, muffled vocals have a swaying consistency that could have been recorded off the side of a caravan, while the simple song structures inhabit a land somewhere between indie and, the most storytelling of genres, folk.
Drawing comparisons to Rufus Wainwright, The Decemberists and, if you look closely, Belle and Sebastian, it hasn't taken Beirut long to find a home. It is now just a matter of how long they will stay.