Postcards From Italy- Beirut

Beirut definitely plays to the beat of a different sort of drum, unique by normal standards. You have folk music mixed with a gypsy, eastern European, sometimes Spanish flare/influence. One song can sound like a march, the next a waltz or polka then a mariachi band. The ringleader is a young man by the name of Zach Condon. Besides being the singer/songwriter, Zach knows how to play the ukulele, accordion, trumpet, mandolin and keyboards. I do not believe I hear a guitar in any of the music but lots of cool instruments like the flugelhorn, tuba, and my favorite the glockenspiel can be.

Beirut has been on the Billboard charts for independent albums making it to #37 with their last album The Rip Tide. The first album, Gulag Orkestar was released in 2006 and "Postcards from Italy" is a track from that effort. Gulag is a Russian labor camp and Orkestar is the Slavic word for orchestra.

I hope you enjoy, it may be unusual but fun. You can also try "Santa Fe, Vagabond, Scenic World, Elephant Gun, Nantes, East Harlem, In the Mausoluem, Prenzlauerberg, After the Curtain and My Night with the Prostitute from Marselle" (yes, that is the title and actually quite good).