Beirut have forthcoming album publically streamed before release
aaamusic | On 09, Aug 2011
Ahead of its physical UK release on the 29th August, Beirut’s stunning new album ‘The Rip Tide’ is now available to stream in full over on The Guardian’s website…
Beirut leader Zach Condon’s music is often synonymous with the exotic mysteries of world travel. Since Beirut’s last album, 2007’s ‘The Flying Club Cup’, sang a love letter to France (with a 2009 stop-off in Mexico for the ‘March of the Zapotec’ EP) many have asked where his songs would voyage next. Lots of guesses, but few predicted the inward journey Condon has achieved on ‘The Rip Tide’, an album with the most introspective and memorable songs of his young career.
The physical release of the album will be available in 3 formats in Europe:
LIMITED Edition European Deluxe CD
Limited to 2000, this will be available at independent shops only. The package will come in a book-styled format, entirely cloth bound setting off the gold foil stamping.
LIMITED Edition European Deluxe LP
Limited to 2000 the LP will be on deluxe 150 GM, VINYL, beautifully clothbound – as per the deluxe CD with gold foil stamped lettering. An ‘info’ backplate is included which can be used as an insert. The LP will also come with a collectable postcard designed by Perrin Cloutier of the band and MP3 download code.
Standard CD DIGIPAK
In a book style format w/gold foil stamped lettering.
Full Tracklisting for ‘The Rip Tide’:
01 A Candle’s Fire
02 Santa Fe
03 East Harlem
04 Goshen
05 Payne’s Bay
06 The Rip Tide
07 Vagabond
08 The Peacock
09 Port of Call
Beirut is also set to embark on its first international tour in over four years in support of ‘The Rip Tide’.
Joining Beirut leader Zach Condon (ukulele, trumpet, piano, vocals) on the road is Perrin Cloutier (accordion, piano), Paul Collins (electric bass, upright bass), Ben Lanz (trumpet, piano, tuba), Nick Petree (drums), and Kelly Pratt (trumpet, euphonium). A six piece band who has consistently honed their live show throughout the band’s career, Beirut puts on an undeniably solid and confident performance and shows a singular band maturing both on record and in concert.
FULL UK DATES
02-Sep Dorset, UK – End of the Road
04-Sep Stradballyr, Ireland – Electric Picnic
06-Sep Manchester, UK – Academy
08-Sep Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Paradiso
12-Sep Paris, France – Olympia
14-Sep Brussels, Belgium – AB
16-Sep London, UK – Brixton Academy
Recorded in Upstate New York, Brooklyn and, of course, Condon’s hometowns of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, ‘The Rip Tide’ marks a distinct leaping off point for Beirut. Musically, songs have a harmonic immediacy that contrasts the complexities of Zapotec’s Mexican full orchestra compositions. These songs started as small melodies, conceived on piano or ukulele, then built upon by the entire band’s contributions in the studio, before undergoing a paring down and retrofitting by Condon. What results is a record that sounds like it could have been recorded in one session, with exciting rhythms matching the upbeat horns and contrasting the mournful strings. In terms of style, no direct geographical affiliation to be exhumed. Rather, what emerges is a style that belongs uniquely and distinctly to Beirut, one that has actually been there all along.
Lyrically, Condon exposes a depth of honesty that outstrips the simplified nomadic troubadour image of his past. The songs speak of love, friendship, isolation and community, touching on universal human themes that are less fabricated stories than impressions of life at a quarter century of age. Songs are no longer about imagining places you haven’t been; they’re about places of which we are all extremely familiar, some of them too familiar.
This dramatic shift expands Beirut’s palate without weighing the music down. Condon has coated serious lyrics with his greatest tunes ever. The second track, ‘Santa Fe,’ is the best pop song he has yet written, a jumpy ode to the town of his youth, and an early sign that The Rip Tide is all about the staycation. Of particular note is ‘Goshen,’ a torch song that wraps itself in Condon’s delicate piano phrases at a level of intimacy never heard before on a Beirut song.
The album is on Pompeii Records (via Forte Distribution in the UK), a label started and wholly owned by Condon. Pompeii is a fully independent, artist run, label and it is releasing ‘The Rip Tide‘ internationally. This extreme level of creative control is what the band has always preferred. Shows often sell-out because they choose to play smaller, more intimate venues. This connection directly to fans extends to ‘The Rip Tide’ release itself, the desire to be able to 100% decide what their music will sound, look, and feel like, not to mention how it can be obtained.
Griffin Rodriguez’s production is, once again, immaculate. The performances of the band – Perrin Cloutier on accordion, Paul Collins on bass, Ben Lanz on trombone, Nick Petree on drums, andKelly Pratt on horns – are spot-on. With contributions by such esteemed colleagues as violinist Heather Trost (A Hawk and a Hacksaw) and Sharon Van Etten, ‘The Rip Tide’ reveals greater levels the more you explore. And you don’t even have to travel very far.
