Description
A mammoth double album with 26 songs to sink your teeth into, it’s safe to say that Artifacts has hidden gems aplenty, and each could probably warrant a full review on its own. The most interesting aspect of this record is the sense of progression you get as a listener. The first half of the record is made up of early EPs, and the first hour or so begins with the simple, stripped-down Beirut of the early years. The second LP is more experimental and is stuffed with fascinating creative cul-de-sacs and thought-starters. Side C, simply entitled New Directions and Early Works is a complete treasure trove of weirdness, from strange electronica-tinted sea shanties to the laid-back lounge jazz of new track ‘Fountains and Tramways’.
Artifacts is such a journey though the world, nay worlds, of Zach Condon: soundtracky instrumentals, heart-squeezing indie anthems, klezmer meets mariachi folk, synthpop, experimental sketches; it’s all here. What it does show is all the threads running through Zach’s world: the romance, the poetry, the dulcet vocals; the pop, the cinematic and the cultural fusion. And this record also reveals a heretofore unexpected ambient quality to the Beirut canon. Ambitious and sometimes idiosyncratic, it’s languishingly lovely, it’s humbly great.
