Album Review

Beirut - No No No

Item: Beirut - No No No
Rating: 3

A familiar and easy-going album.

Reviewer: Tom Walters

Released: 11th September 2015

Label: 4AD

Some bands have a knack for remaining recognisable despite each of their records sounding largely different from the last - see Real Estate, Deerhunter, Kurt Vile et al. It’s a rare-ish quality that can sometimes be seen as a huge misstep, but with Beirut’s fourth album in four years - ‘No No No’ - the Zach Condon-led band are keeping things fresh, and yet entirely the same. Recording over a two week period in a staple New York winter, the album sounds more like catharsis for the cold than a freezing slumber, feeling organic, fresh and breezy with every step.

All the Beirut staples are here: there’s soaring yet nuanced horns on ‘August Holland’, there’s honky tonk keys and subtle strings on the instrumental ‘As Needed’. Condon’s voice sounds as enunciated and proper as ever, helping pull together one of the clearest versions of the Beirut sound the band have laid down to date. The real surprise comes on ‘No No No’, the Metronomy-esque single that actually sees Beirut take a vintage approach, with fairground melodies and summertime melancholy coming together in a bright-eyed pop vision.

Having played ludicrously huge venues such as the Hammersmith Apollo and the Sydney Opera House, there was always going to be an expectation of grandness from any future Beirut material. However, on ‘No No No’, Condon is keeping things vibrant yet grounded - ‘Fener’ features whimsical vocals and a laid-back melody, while ‘Perth’ is an upbeat and pastel-toned banger that subliminally slips thoughts of ice creams and merry-go-rounds into the mind. The songs on ‘No No No’ could be performed in stadiums with thirty piece orchestras, but they could also easily be played in local pubs, too. It’s truly terrific and flexible songwriting on Condon’s behalf.

There is a feeling that there could’ve been more, though. Condon’s clearly aiming for a big pop record with ‘No No No’, and whilst he delivers on the title track and ‘Perth’, tracks like ‘Fener’, ‘At Once’ and ‘Pacheco’ sound like middling interludes - they never quite strike the same chord as the catchier tracks. It’s the same bloatedness that often permeates through a Beirut record, and despite a short recording time Condon hasn’t quite been able to shake it, leaving us with a familiar and easy-going album that might step in a different direction, but ultimately remains distinctively Beirut.

Tags: Beirut, Reviews, Album Reviews

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