Beirut’s forthcoming double-EP doesn’t release for another 22 days, but a good friend of mine sent over an advance copy knowing all too well that I’d be hounding him for it anyway. The first half of the album is “March Of The Zapotec”, a six-song EP recorded in Oaxaca, Mexico along with The Jimenez Band, a 19-piece orchestra filling in trumpet blares, percussion and guitar accompaniment. You won’t find the melodic escapades from “The Flying Club Cup”, nor will you encounter the Eastern European triumph of “Gulag Orkestar”, but it’s a subtle salutation to Zach Condon’s time in Southern, Mexico.

It’s hardly experimental considering Condon’s concoctions usually involve intermingling of various elements from his travels around the world. Yet, what’s up with the lack of vocals on the track “On A Bayonet?”

The other half of the album, “Holland” — accredited to Condon’s first project Real People — is substantially groovier. Though I’m not sure why Condon prefered to name the latter of the EP under his old pseudonym, it’s clear he stuck to the synth-beat style notoriously Real People. The album is a mere 34 minutes in length, but ricochets enough brilliance off your ear drums to keep your thirst quenched for a few months. Also, you now have a video to keep you entertained as well.

 

 Beirut: On A Bayonet: March Of The Zapotec.: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Real People: The Concubine: Holland.: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download