I just got done listening to
Beirut's
Gulag Orkestar, sent to me by Stone Birds.
I found it pretty enjoyable overall. I heard about this album around the time it came out in 2006, and intended to give it a listen but never did. I think I remember people saying that fans of
Neutral Milk Hotel would like it. I gave the samples a listen, but I guess they didn't do enough for me to follow through. A bit too "world" for me I guess.
So as I start playing it today, I'm enjoying the first few tracks. I do hear some similarities to NMH, but it's mostly in the music and the vocals are vastly different. There's a big world music influence, lots of brass, and pained vocals I can't really comprehend. Vocals are just an instrument to me though, I don't cry if I can't understand them. There's a pretty depressing, kind of poverty-stricken vibe to the album but it's beautiful at the same time. I also picked up on sounds similar to
Yeasayer's album
All Hour Cymbals (from 07, maybe they were influenced by
Beirut) and even some
Radiohead (mostly in the vocals I think). Towards the end of the album I started feeling that it was a bit redundant or samey. That can happen easily when listening to an album in a style I'm unfamiliar with, though. I would probably pick up on new sounds with further listens, that would help me see the differences between songs.