Zach Condon may only be in his early 20s but his distinctive croon and the sheer scale of his music is that of a fully blossomed performer and composer. The Flying Club Cup arrives just under a year after Beirut’s debut, the Balkan-folk influenced opus, Gulang Orkestar. This time Condon can be found immersing himself in some French culture to bring us a collection of vignettes that constantly excites and surprises with musical twists and turns round every glorious note. Nantes is an exotic and delicate number which endeavours to display Condon’s soulful vocal above brushed instrumentation and soft trombones. The shameless abandon of the albums title track lets the brass dictate more sternly almost reaching mariachi status was it not for the gentle waltz rhythm that reins it in. In an album that has many highlights and effortlessly plays from start to finish it’s hard to pick standout tracks, however the feverishly romantic, ‘Cliquot’ and the piano driven, ‘Guyamas Sonora’ are notable for their beautiful instrumentation and dreamy arrangements.
