Beirut The Rip Tide |
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 | Tracklist:
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
| Ranking: #143 for 2011 | |
| | other reviews | nowhereman1991 (3.5)
Condon maintains his momentum as one of the more interesting indie-folk songwriters around at the mo... |
On 33 Lists
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| Summary: Beirut awaken from their European reverie and produce a startlingly mature third LP. |
The longed after distraction of escapism has always fallen more certainly under film’s jurisdiction than music’s, while the latter has, broadly speaking, clung to a style of storytelling decidedly more personal - closer to parables and poetry. But when Zach Condon whisked us away four years ago with The Flying Club Cup, a veritable guided tour through cobblestone streets and Balkan gypsy settlements, it was one of the few records around genuinely trembling with that cinematic quality. Every song painted a picture; an ideal world of sepia-toned Mediterranean coastal towns that, at the precise moment the band poised itself behind the flare of a trumpet, would pull you through the frame. No song since “Postcards From Italy” has better encapsulated the desire for travel, romance and the will to simply be, with someone you love, in a foreign place, floating in the cold current of an Atlantic ocean, to exist comfortably in a situation better than where you are right now, and not because Condon had experienced these things and was relaying it all back to us, but because the music was written through a filter of these dreams and aspirations.
Despite this, The Rip Tide is the first Beirut record to depart from that common thread of yearning and in doing so, opens the doors for listeners to glimpse Condon and co. at a much more personal level than as some admirable traveling troubadour. “Santa Fe”, for example, takes its title from the town Condon grew up in and in its bouncy synth rhythm, perfectly demonstrates one of the records most terrific surprises; The Rip Tide is also the first Beirut album to fully embrace the pop sensibilities Condon so deftly displayed in songs like “Scenic World” and nurtured through his side project, Realpeople. Others like “A Candle’s Fire” and the terrific first single “East Harlem” put this talent on full display, marking a surprising but welcome change in tone for an artist that seemed to once carry the burden of perpetual melancholia in every husky warble.
The maturation of content adds an interesting perspective to approaching The Rip Tide compared to previous LPs. No longer does the relationship between the listener necessarily require as large a degree of mutuality; where the lengthy, fantastic instrumental interludes of “Elephant Gun” were sharpened by imagination and the gloomy wallowing of “Nantes” gave more for each lovers quarrel sketched into your memory, the fact that The Rip Tide operates on a more personal level naturally imbues it with the ability to be, generally, more relatable. The subtle, simmering warmth of “Goshen” and the permeating loneliness of the title track move unlike (though not necessarily superior or inferior, purely in a different manner) any previous efforts simply because they resonate far closer to what is real than what we’ve dreamed and imagined. It’s one of the records key strengths; though it may not capture our hearts as instantly as the ideas of nostalgia and romance, The Rip Tide ushers in different dimensions of emotion and that is a progression to be admired.
Though these changes should not be greatly exaggerated – they do come in small measures – they give the record a character of its own. However, the elements fans have come to expect of the band have certainly not gone amiss, with tracks like “The Peacock” highlighting some of the brightest storytelling of their career; “Where should I begin, begin?” Condon stutters. “He’s the only one who knows the words”, he realizes over the regal horn of a trumpet and a shifting drone. Beirut may have taken a break from composing the music of reverie but they've settled somewhere with as much life to colour.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 4
it's been a long time now
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Cool review. I've had this for a while, and it's taken a bit longer to get into than their other two full lengths. This kinda makes me want to give it another spin though.
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yess
Digging: - Digging: - | | |
YES A KIRG REVIEW!
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He lives!
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| | | Album Rating: 4
you know it dudes
| | | Album Rating: 4
lovely album, ok-i-guess review
Digging: Simian Mobile Disco - Unpatterns Digging: Simian Mobile Disco - Unpatterns | | | Album Rating: 3.5
I'm curious to give this a listen. Btw Kir can one expect a write up on WOW? I've entered a contest that'll get me 2 tickets (which I feel I have a shot at winning) but if that doesn't work out it would be sweet the read you're experience of it.
Digging: Hilary Hahn and Hauschka - Silfra | | | Album Rating: 4
album rools
| | | Album Rating: 4
that's the plan felix
didn't know you had heard this rudolph
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Cool, I'll be looking forward too it! And thanks! You going to Popaganda or something? Or is the visit
to our capital a short one?
| | | Album Rating: 4
im struggling between a 3.5 and a 4 for this atm
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I need this.
Great review Kiran you should do it more.
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Sound is the colour I know, oh,
| | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
album is so consistent
| | | Album Rating: 4
really good album, been listening to it a lot lately
Digging: The Tallest Man on Earth - There's No Leaving Now Digging: The Tallest Man on Earth - There's No Leaving Now | | |
i had no idea this was coming out. :]
Digging: ASAP Rocky - Live.Love.A$AP.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Haven't listened to this yet, although you describing it as 'mature' is slightly worrying to me. The main reason I enjoyed Gulag so much and enjoyed it more than Flying Club was because it was so fun, so free and whimsical. I'm still definitely going to check this out though!
Digging: Egyptian Art Strike - Egyptian Art Strike Digging: Egyptian Art Strike - Egyptian Art Strike | | |
More reason to love 2011. SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT
Edit: Also, how many people have Cowboy Bebop avatars now?
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Haven't listened to this yet, although you describing it as 'mature' is slightly worrying to me. The main reason I enjoyed Gulag so much and enjoyed it more than Flying Club was because it was so fun, so free and whimsical. I'm still definitely going to check this out though!
there are plenty of songs here that rival gulag orkestar with the sort of whimsical orchestrations you're thinking of (the first three songs, for example) but in general this is much, much more polished
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