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Gallipoli (album)

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Gallipoli
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1, 2019
Recorded
  • Midwinter 2016
  • October 2017
Studio
Length44:32
Label4AD
Producer
  • Zach Condon
  • Gabe Wax
Beirut chronology
No No No
(2015)
Gallipoli
(2019)
Artifacts
(2022)
Singles from Gallipoli
  1. "Gallipoli"
    Released: October 22, 2018
  2. "Corfu"
    Released: October 26, 2018
  3. "Landslide"
    Released: January 10, 2019

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.[1] It is supported by the singles "Gallipoli", "Corfu" and "Landslide".[2][3] The band toured across North America and Europe in support of the album in 2019.[4]

Background

[edit]

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.[4] The album was announced in a statement on the band's Facebook page that also explained the timeline of its creation.[5]

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.[6] 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".[7]

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."[6] 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.[7]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.0/10[8]
Metacritic75/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Exclaim!6/10[10]
The Guardian[11]
Mojo[12]
Q[13]
NME[14]
Pitchfork6.6/10[15]
PopMatters8/10[16]
Rolling Stone[17]
The Times[18]

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.[9]

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."[19] 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."[20]

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."[18] 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."[10] Victoria Segal of Mojo said, "Gallipoli [...] is oddly unmoving, lacking range for all its seductive picturesque roaming".[12]

Track listing

[edit]

All lyrics are written by Zach Condon, except where noted; all music is composed by Zach Condon

No.TitleLyricsLength
1."When I Die"
  • Zach Condon
  • Ryan Condon
3:16
2."Gallipoli" 4:06
3."Varieties of Exile" 5:27
4."On Mainau Island" 2:13
5."I Giardini" 3:43
6."Gauze für Zah" 6:04
7."Corfu" 2:35
8."Landslide" 3:30
9."Family Curse" 3:23
10."Light in the Atoll" 3:59
11."We Never Lived Here" 4:12
12."Fin" 2:03
Total length:44:32

Personnel

[edit]

The following people contributed to Gallipoli:[21][22]

Beirut

  • Zach Condon – vocals (1–3, 5, 6, 8–12), backing vocals (6), piano (5–12), Rhodes piano (3, 12), Farfisa organ (2–4, 6–9), Hammond organ (1), pump organ (9), ukulele (1, 3, 5), trumpet (1–3, 6, 8–11), accordion (3), percussion (2–5, 7, 8, 10), synth (10), Moog Voyager synthesizer (1, 2, 4–9), modular synthesizer (7, 11, 12), bells (4), Roland keyboard (5), ROLI Seaboard keyboard (6), shaker (6), drum machine (9), vocal recording, production, mixing
  • Nick Petree – drums (1, 3–6, 8–10, 12), percussion (1–8, 10, 11), baritone ukulele (1, 6), backing vocals (6), hand drums (7, 10)
  • Paul Collins – bass (1–3, 7–10, 12), guitar (1, 3, 7, 10), Farfisa organ (2), double bass (6, 11), backing vocals (6), tape machine (6), drum machine (7), modular synthesizer (7, 11, 12), baritone guitar (8), percussion (8), synthesizer (9), space echo (12)
  • Ben Lanz – trombone (10, 11), brass arrangement (11)
  • Kyle Resnick – trumpet (10, 11)

Additional personnel

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

Charts

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Yoo, Noah (October 20, 2018). "Beirut Announce New Album Gallipoli". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  2. ^ "Beirut share new 'Gallipoli' track 'Corfu' | News". DIY. October 29, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  3. ^ Minsker, Evan (January 10, 2019). "Beirut Release Video for New Song "Landslide": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Schatz, Lake (October 22, 2018). "Beirut announces new album, Gallipoli, shares title track: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  5. ^ Rettig, James (October 22, 2018). "Beirut – 'Gallipoli'". Stereogum. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Dalton, Stephen (February 8, 2019). "Beirut – Gallipoli". Uncut. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Donelson, Marcy. "Gallipoli - Beirut". AllMusic. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  8. ^ "Gallipoli by Beirut reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Gallipoli by Beirut Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Hudson, Alex (January 30, 2019). "Beirut Gallipoli". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  11. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (February 1, 2019). "Beirut: Gallipolli review – Pinterest-friendly world indie". The Guardian. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Segal, Victoria. "Beirut – Gallipoli". Mojo (March 2019 ed.). p. 96.
  13. ^ "Beirut – Gallipoli". Q (March 2019 ed.). p. 112.
  14. ^ Mylrea, Hannah (February 3, 2019). "Beirut – 'Gallipoli' review". NME. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  15. ^ Kemp, Sophie (February 4, 2019). "Beirut: Gallipoli Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  16. ^ Stasis, Spyros (January 29, 2019). "Beirut Returns with Another Exquisite World Music Experiment in 'Gallipoli'". PopMatters. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  17. ^ Hermes, Will (February 3, 2019). "Review: Indie-rock Internationalists Beirut Return With the Haunting 'Gallipoli'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  18. ^ a b Hodgkinson, Will (February 1, 2019). "Beirut: Gallipoli review". The Times. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  19. ^ Clark, Ragan (February 1, 2019). "Review: Beirut's new album is a celebration of cultures". Associated Press. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  20. ^ Kinsella, Paddy (January 29, 2019). "Beirut's Gallipoli is their best album yet". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  21. ^ Condon, Zachary (August 2018). "Gallipoli". Beirut. Berlin. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018.
  22. ^ Gallipoli (Liner notes). Beirut. 4AD. 2019. 4AD0121LPE.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Beirut – Gallipoli" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Beirut – Gallipoli" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Beirut – Gallipoli" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  26. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Beirut – Gallipoli" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  27. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 6, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved February 11, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Beirut – Gallipoli" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  29. ^ "Gallipoli position in Portuguese Charts".
  30. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  31. ^ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 6: del 1.2.2019 al 7.2.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Beirut – Gallipoli". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  33. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  34. ^ "Beirut Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  35. ^ "Beirut Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  36. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2019". Ultratop. Retrieved June 27, 2020.