Music Marathon 2007, Part 3 (Beirut – Caribou)

And he just won’t shut up…

Beirut – The Flying Cup Club

Beirut is, essentially, a novelty band. I don’t care how unusual the gimmick is (and it’s not really, with Devotchka and others doing the Balkan cabaret thing), it’s still basically novelty at its heart, and I don’t think it’s (or, rather, “he’s”) transcended that. Unlike other bands that might have started as ethnic revival novelty acts, but became much more, like the Pogues, the songs never transcend the style. The lyrics are nothing special, the melodies are repetitive, and the performances are perfectly adequate, but there’s no fire to them. Zach Condon’s monotone (okay, he hits maybe three notes – is that “tri-tone?”) vocals just sit there, waiting for the chord change so he can hit the next obvious note. It’s notable that the best performances come on “Cliquot” (sung by Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallett*, who did the string arrangements) and the spectacular extended instrumental section of “In the Mausoleum.” I’m probably being too hard on The Flying Cup Club, because it’s, in truth, not that bad an album, and it shows promise. But it just seems like such an exercise in style that the songs were overlooked in a big way.

* Oddly enough, it took this album to make me realize that Pallett sounds a little like Christopher Cross. Once you hear it, you can’t unhear it.