Gallipoli (Beirut Album)

''Gallipoli'' is the fifth studio album by indie folk band Beirut. It was released on February 1, 2019 by 4AD. The album is named after the Italian town where the title track was written. It is supported by the singles "Gallipoli", "Corfu" and "Landslide". The band toured across North America and Europe in support of the album in 2019.

Background

Work on the album began in late 2016, with Zach Condon holding recording sessions in various cities, including New York City, Apulia, Italy, and Berlin (where Condon lives). The album is produced by Condon and Gabe Wax, who also produced the band's previous album, 2015's '' No No No''. It features Condon playing his old Farfisa organ from Santa Fe which was used on '' Gulag Orkestar'' and '' The Flying Club Cup''. The album was announced in a statement on the band's Facebook page that also explained the timeline of its creation.

Condon's first album since moving to Berlin and familiarising himself with the city's experimental electronic music scene, ''Gallipoli'' is an album of "loopy, burbling, shape-shifting tracks" that takes influence from electronic duo Mouse on Mars. AllMusic's Marcy Donelson wrote that Condon channeled performances "through a series of amplifiers, PA systems, and tape machines" in order to "capture sounds like mechanical buzzing, creaking instruments, and off-pitch tones".

According to Stephen Dalton of ''Uncut'', the album features more "studio buzz and random dissonance" than Condon's previous albums, elaborating: "Generous helpings of crackle and hiss are retained in the mix, creating an almost musique concrète effect in places. Amid the usual parping trumpets and ukulele twangs are modular synths, tape loops, echo-drenched vintage organs, avant-jazz audioscapes and ambient sound paintings." Donelson wrote that the album's usage of full instrumentation, colourful arrangements and dense production prevents the album from becoming lo-fi, despite Condon's stated wish to capture organic sounds.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, indicating generally favorable reviews.

Ragan Clark of the '' Associated Press'' praised the album and called it a "return to vocal and expressive brilliance", saying, "Some of the zest lacking in the band’s 2015 album ''No No No'' is fully realized in this new album." Will Hermes of '' Rolling Stone'' gave the album a favorable review, saying, "Condon's built an entire world with globetrotting horn charts at or near the heart, and ''Gallipoli'' revisits it with some of his most emotive songwriting and singing." Paddy Kinsella of '' The Line of Best Fit'' praised the album as the band's best to date, stating, " 'Gallipoli''is the sound of one of our most talented musicians rediscovering his love for what he was born to do. It's Zach Condon's career highlight so far and shows that he's at his best when he enjoys making music and cares less about what critics and fans might think of it. Long may it continue."

Writing for '' The Times'', Will Hodgkinson gave the album 2 out of 5 stars, saying the album "never seems to get beyond its own sense of sophistication." Alex Hudson of ''Exclaim!'' gave the album a 6/10, writing, "There's enough material here for a solid EP, but it's rather thin for a full-length." Victoria Segal of '' Mojo'' said, "Gallipoli ..is oddly unmoving, lacking range for all its seductive picturesque roaming".

Track listing

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''Gallipoli'':

Beirut
* Zach Condon – vocals , backing vocals , piano , Rhodes piano , Farfisa organ , Hammond organ , pump organ , ukulele , trumpet , accordion , percussion , synth , Moog Voyager synthesizer , modular synthesizer , bells , Roland keyboard , ROLI Seaboard keyboard , shaker , drum machine , vocal recording, production, mixing
* Nick Petree – drums , percussion , baritone ukulele , backing vocals , hand drums
* Paul Collins – bass , guitar , Farfisa organ , double bass , backing vocals , tape machine , drum machine , modular synthesizer , baritone guitar , percussion , synthesizer , space echo
* Ben Lanz – trombone , brass arrangement
* Kyle Resnick – trumpet

Additional personnel
* Gabe Wax – production, mixing, engineering
* Francesco Donadello – mastering
* Norman Nitzsche – mastering
* Brody Condon – artwork
* Ben Wilkerson Tousley – design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

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2019 albums
4AD albums
Beirut (band) albums