And the Lollapalooza research has begun. Every year, after the lineup comes out, I start listening to the bands that I should know, but that have managed to escape my ear-grasp for whatever reason. Beirut is one of those bands. How I’ve never gotten around to listening to them, I have no idea. They’re one of those bands that all of my mindie friends swear by, and they’re fairly high up on the lineup, pretty much topping the mid-tier (which is fantastic this year, I would like to add).
Beirut does have one concrete thing going for it, an awesome name. As for The Flying Club Cup…eh…
This record is pretty hit or miss, with a little too much boring for it to earn another listen.
Don’t get me wrong, this album has some redeeming factors. A Sunday Smile is definitely a decent song. It has group vocals, which pretty much guaranteed that I would like it from the start…I’m weird that way. La Banlieu is pretty solid too, and as close to an up-tempo song as Beirut can muster.
The rest of the record is a bit too boring for me. Beirut relies heavily on an accordion, the novelty of which wears out pretty quickly; once that happens, you’re stuck listening to slow, boring accordions for the rest of the album, a fate I would not wish upon anybody. It doesn’t help that Zach Condon, the singer, sounds about as uninterested in his music as I am.
Every now and then, The Flying Club Cup would have something that would make me say “yes!” Something like a good tempo change or standout lyric. However, those moments were few and far between, and didn’t make this album worth listening to.
Swole Ear 
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