Beirut - Gallipoli

“‘The Flying Club Cup’ saw Beirut go baroque pop, ‘The Rip Tide’ embraced mariachi with its bombastic brass arrangements and 2015 record ‘No No No’ was a 30-minute sugar rush of euphoric indie-pop. Each release was threaded through with Condon’s musical adventurousness. Album five, ‘Gallipoli’, is no different. Beirut’s now-trademark sound has been sun-drenched this time around, chockablock with slinky brass and luminous hooks. Title track ‘Gallipoli’ (which was influenced by Condon seeing a brass band procession in the Medieval Italian town of the same name) is a jubilant, waltzing chunk of folk-pop, filled with skipping drums and Condon’s velvety vocals floating over the top. ‘Gauze für Zah’ and ‘Landslide’, meanwhile, are soaring nuggets of the sweet folk-laced pop, similar to those we heard on the band’s previous album ‘No No No’. ‘Gallipoli’ is the culmination of every Beirut album, feeling like a climatic mix of new and old. In some ways this album feels like a return home, with those familiar trotting organ lines and close-knit vocal harmonies; but others it’s the inevitable next step on Condon’s musical voyage.” – NME

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