Review: Beirut - The Rip Tide

I've always been a fan of ornate instrumentation.  When used right, brass and other unconventional rock instruments fit right in with your guitar and synths.  Great examples of this interesting combination include Neutral Milk Hotel's impeccable In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, or The Beach Boys' masterful Pet Sounds, or a pretty decent chunk of The Beatles' post-Revolver catalog.  Beirut really doesn't deserve to be compared to these musical behemoths, but mastermind Zach Condon and his friends have been bringing that brassy sound back amid the current wash of electronic-driven music.

The idea for Beirut, a 11-piece folk group from mostly New York, came from Santa Fe resident Zach Condon after a trip to Europe, where he discovered Balkan folk music.  Much of that sound can be found in the music of Beirut, which is eclectic in its use of both electronics and traditional instruments such as the trumpet and accordion.  The Rip Tide is Beirut's third record, and while I am no expert on their previous work, it seems if you liked that you will very much enjoy this as well.  But you don't have to be a Beirut fan to get into these tunes.

The Rip Tide is a very accessible album, something that might come off as a bit of a shock given its influences and instrumentation.  The band works very well together, with Condon's pleasant tenor leading everyone along.  Synths give way seamlessly to a horn ensemble on standout track "Santa Fe", an homage to Condon's hometown.  "Santa Fe" is a very breezy track, much like the rest of the record.  These are light, upbeat tracks, and the majority of them are very easy to like.  The breeziness of the album makes it feel even shorter than it's already brief 33-minute timespan suggests.  Closer "Port of Call" is another highlight, with its syncopated acoustic guitar and bells providing a great background to Condon's vocal.

The Rip Tide feels like a recall to the Decemberists' album from earlier this year in many ways.  Both albums are folky, feature frontmen from interesting western locales, and manage to be quite pleasant but not earth-shattering, or even just really good.  Most of these tracks are worth a listen, especially the two mentioned, but the album as a whole is just good, not great.  Beirut fans will love it, and you might love it too, but I doubt I'll be coming back to it too often.  3.6/5.

Review: Washed Out - Within and Without

Was he'd out?  That doesn't even make sense.  I mean, grammatically, that's just...what?  Oh, Washed Out.  Why is it formatted like...never mind.  Bedroom producer Ernest Greene, aka Washed Out, is one of the most well-known artists in the fairly recent chillwave scene.  Chillwave is a style defined by dreamy, repetitive synth loops and filtered vocals, sort of like synthpop on Vicodin.  Within and Without is Greene's first full-length, coming on the heels of last year's critically acclaimed EP Life of Leisure.  The cover of the record is very appropriate; these songs are great for relaxing in bed, or doing other things that involve beds.


Most of the songs on Within and Without are pretty simple, but that isn't a mark against them.  These tracks ebb and flow gracefully, repeating gorgeous synth line after gorgeous, reverberant synth line.  For the most part, the vocals just act as another instrument, filtered so much that it's nearly impossible to tell what Greene is saying.  These songs don't need stories, they simply excel at being meditative and just generally pleasant.

The record is pretty much a perfect length, and that length is not too long, because even the most beautiful synths get boring when every song is pretty much structured the same.  In fact, nearly every song incorporates the same instrumentation, with the exception of the last one (which dumps the synth for *gasp* plain ol' piano).  It's also pretty frontloaded, with the first four tracks probably being the standouts.  But boy, are they standouts.  "Amor Fati" and "Eyes Be Closed" are soaring, uplifting tracks that burst with color and joy.  Closer "A Dedication" features a very pretty piano line and is a perfect note to end on.  Unfortunately, some of the tracks in the middle can be a little laborious, especially the lengthy and slow "You and I."  But the even longer "Soft" proves that if the music is good enough, it doesn't matter how long the song goes on.

Within and Without is a pretty good record all things told.  While I don't think it will age well as a focusing listening album, it is wonderful, chilled-out background music, and I'm sure the first few tracks will be mainstays on my listenin rotation for a while yet.  3.9/5.