Zach Condon of Beirut is the greatest enactor of Balkan brass-inflected indie music of them all. Thile acts like Beirut are few and far between, that’s precisely what has made the outfit such a standout across five albums and five equally notable EPs. This more than 15-year career arc is significant today as Condon has announced Artifacts, a double LP of loose ends and unreleased tracks from every stage of his career, even dating as far back as to when he was 14. It’s out on January 28th, 2022 via his own Pompeii Records.
Condon shared a statement saying that the project began as a simple package of unreleased recordings, but it quickly grew into a very comprehensive anthology, including tracks inspired by visits to Sicily, Morocco and more:
“When the decision came to re-release this collection, I found myself digging through hard drives looking for something extra to add to the compilation. What started as a few extra unreleased tracks from my formative recording years quickly grew into an entire extra records-worth of music from my past, and a larger project of remixing and remastering everything I found for good measure.”
Along with today’s announcement comes the track “Fisher Island Sound,” named after the body of water off the Connecticut coast, where Condon wrote it. Worldly strings are joined by a button accordion, rapturous drums and Condon’s always wonderful vocals. He explains that reticence with those very vocals as well as general self-doubt, is what prevented him from releasing this music in the first place. He says that he’s “come to rediscover some of these old songs in a different light since then, but they do remain a heavy reminder of unsteady times.”
Listen to “Fisher Island Sound” above, and below, find the Artifacts art and tracklist.
SIDE A – Lon Gisland, Transatlantique, O Leãozinho
1. “Elephant Gun”
2. “My Family’s Role In The World Revolution”
3. “Scenic World”
4. “The Long Island Sound”
5. “Carousels”
6. “Transatantique”
7. “O Leãozinho”
SIDE B – The Misfits
8. “Autumn Tall Tales”
9. “Fyodor Dormant”
10. “Poisoning Claude”
11. “Bercy”
12. “Your Sails”
13. “Irrlichter”
SIDE C – New Directions and Early Works
14. “Sicily”
15. “Now I’m Gone”
16. “Napoleon On The Bellerophon”
17. “Interior of a Dutch House”
18. “Fountains and Tramways”
19. “Hot Air Balloon”
SIDE D – The B-Sides
20. “Fisher Island Sound”
21. “So Slowly”
22. “Die Treue zum Ursprung”
23. “The Crossing”
24. “Zagora”
25. “Le Phare Du Cap Bon”
26. “Babylon”
