Ample cause to blow his own trumpet: Pop Beirut, Brixton Academy, London
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Charting the career trajectory of Zach Condon, the brains behind Beirut, it's hard not to marvel at his ascent.
What began in a dorm-room at the University of New Mexico has spiralled into a critically lauded enterprise: arriving at a packed Brixton Academy, it's clear that Beirut's popular appeal continues to swell, too.
Warmed up by a superb set from support act tUnE-yArDs – another brainchild of a singular talent, New Englander Merrill Garbus – the crowd are as enthusiastic as they are diverse. Some are here to drink in the Baltic charms of Condon's first record, others to sway along to the distinctive trumpet melodies which dance over many of Beirut's best tracks.
At times mournful, at others brash, it's these soaring brass riffs which amaze the most. Weaving into and out of "Scenic World" or "Santa Fe" with subtlety and grace, they're able to deliver some moments of both haunting magic and immediate punch. Condon, a trained jazz trumpeter, understands that brass can offer more than just ostentatious backing for epic rock, and his deployment of it is beautifully considered. The image of four brass players silhouetted against the bright backlights is striking, and the impact they produce is impressive.
However, Beirut's show is more than a dressed-up recital. Condon's ear for composition is evident, his command of several instruments – piano, ukulele, trumpet – is effortless, and his tremulous, spectral vocals lilt over the ingenious arrangements without becoming overbearing.
Condon would be forgiven for swaggering, but tonight he shows restraint and humble joy, leading his band and the crowd through a set encompassing the pop sensibilities of new LP, The Rip Tide, with the Euro-influenced strains of Gulag Orkestar and The Flying Club Cup. Musically remarkable, Beirut's work is littered with extraordinary inventiveness, and from the thump of "Port of Call" to the tender opening of "Elephant Gun", we hear a range of approaches, all united by Condon's gorgeous vocals and boundless creativity. His greatest gift is the ability to evoke the same wistful wonder he feels for music from his listener, and this evening he does it time and again to mesmerising effect.
Constantly subverting expectation without becoming contrived, Beirut can transport you somewhere else during their songs; ironic, then, that tonight there's nowhere else you'd rather be.
luke grundy
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