March of the Zapotec & Realpeople

Today's Music That Jason Has Opinions About is March of the Zapotec and Realpeople, by Beirut.

Please don't get me started on Beirut. As far as I'm concerned, Zach Condon gets a free pass to make whatever music he wants, based on The Gulag Orkestar, hell, probably just for "Postcards to Italy" and "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)". Yes, he used the free pass a little with The Flying Club Cup, but if you showed up at my office and said you had tickets to a Beirut show, I'll be damned if I wouldn't figure out some way to go.

Anyhow, Zapotec is part Beirut, part Zach Condon Does Album Leaf or something like that. The first half of the album is traditional Beirut, all horns with a Mediterranean feel to it. While I don't know if it reaches the heights of Gulag Orkestar, this part of the album is not Beirut's least work, and probably falls in with the Lon Gisland EP in terms of sound and quality. It's very listenable; if it doesn't quite reach the stars, it certainly finds a place above the clouds.

The second half of Zapotec is a little more experimental. It has a largely electronic sound, though structurally, it still identifies with the rest of the album (and Beirut in general, as strange as that may seem based on the instrumentation). It relies on the vocals somewhat less to carry the songs, and the mood is a bit more restrained than I would have expected. Naturally, I wouldn't say this is the stronger half of the album, but it's certainly more interesting, if only as a curiosity. It isn't the direction I'd prefer to see Beirut take its sound (as though I have a choice), but it's a surprising change of pace, and not a mistake (if maybe a misstep, though only because the more organic and European sound is something I am fond of).

So, to summarize: A pretty good album, half strong, half interesting, not really a galvanized work, but a worthwhile one.

In Other News:
Man do I need sleep today.

My doctor's report was all positive! Let's drink to that. I should have asked about my shoulder, but it seems to be getting better (albeit not at the rate I would like).

The weather is pretty decent today, and you know what that means.