PragueDJ.com

Date/Time: Sunday August 15, 2010  /  20:00 
Venue: KD Vltavska
Entrance: 440czk (BUY HERE)
Audio Sample: Nantes

Despite their name, indie-darling Beirut's main influences lie not in the Middle East, but in the middle of Europe. Built on a breezy foundation of ukelele chords and accordion, the band's music is a mix of Balkan-infused folk, inflected with horn choruses reminiscent of old-time mariachi stereotypes, klezmerish clarinet riffs and eclectic percussion instruments. One of the few pop groups around to really embrace triple meter, Beirut balances romantic, sweeping waltz tempos with the persistent oom-pah of the flugelhorn (look it up). In an indicator of their truly international appeal, one of the band's weirdest and most delightful legacies is that of "Beirutando" (literally "Beiruting"), a 2009 Brazilian event featuring Beirut tribute bands playing covers adapted to Brazilian music styles in the streets of major cities.

If this all sounds dangerously close to twee, it is. However, Beirut is saved from skinny hipster hell by their inventiveness, their genuine musicianship, and their seeming sincerity. This last is aided by frontman and founder's Zach Condon's voice. Condon croons in a mellow tenor with gentle vibrato that is instantly recognizable, weirdly mature (Condon is 24), lovely, and nostalgic. Beirut's music is an old sepia photograph of someone else's ancestors, making you long for a place and time you've never been.

We can only guess what would happen if the good people of Prague decided to do some "Beirutovani" of their own. "Mount Wroclai" punctuated by earnest white-boy Slovak hip-hop? "Postcards from Italy" in the manner of the immortal Karel Gott? For now we'll probably have to settle for the original, which is perfectly fine with me.