Flugelhorn, trumpet and ukelele are not usually gateway instruments to indie-pop success. Neither is the euphonium, mandolin, accordion, or a modified conch shell. But for Albuquerque native Zach Condon, these have been the sounds of success for his band Beirut. (He’s the one one with the ukelele in the picture above).
Condon’s first album, Gulag Orekestar (2006), was recorded largely in his bedroom and became a critical success. Since then he has built on a rotating cast of musicians, writing songs of increasing complexity. The Rip Tide is the band’s third full-length CD and was released in August of 2011. The band has just released a new video for the track “The Rip Tide” and it’s a wonderful addition for summer playlists. Soothing and jazzy, there is still an undertow of loneliness.
What starts as a simple video of sailing evolves into an explorations of textures and color. It’s a great match of the musical and the visual. Houmam Abdallah directs the sumptuous descent into lushness:
