On Jan. 28, alternative electronic group Beirut is releasing Artifacts, a double-LP tracing the evolution of the band. The band began as frontman Zach Condon’s personal project when he was 14 years old, and this album reveals how the band has grown and changed ever since. The collection began as a compilation of unreleased tracks, but now also includes remixed and remastered projects.
In anticipation of the album, they recently shared “Fisher Island Sound,” a nostalgic track about finding comfort in hard times thanks to the safety of being in a small town. Between Condon’s relaxing and refreshing voice and the instrumental section that fits in a choose-your-own-adventure video game, this song represents the happiness that is never fleeting from the time in which they originate.
“I played with the lines for years before trying to record versions of it in Brooklyn with the band,” frontman Zach Condon said of the song in a press release. “I struggled in those years to put vocals on the songs and ended up scrapping a lot of the music from that era in this part of the collection due to fear, stress and self-doubt. I’ve come to rediscover some of these old songs in a different light since then, but they do remain a heavy reminder of unsteady times.”
The band was supposed to go on tour in 2019 but had to cancel due to Condon’s laryngitis. The tour was scheduled in celebration of their fifth full-length album Gallipoli, which, like “Fisher Island Sound,” beautifully blended elements of coastal music and sentimental lyrics.
Artifacts will be out digitally on Jan. 28 and physically on March 4 via Pompeii Records.
Artifacts tracklisting:
SIDE A – Lon Gisland, Transatlantique, O Leãozinho
01 – Elephant Gun
02 – My Family’s Role In The World Revolution
03 – Scenic World
04 – The Long Island Sound
05 – Carousels
06 – Transatantique
07 – O Leãozinho
SIDE B – The Misfits
08 – Autumn Tall Tales
09 – Fyodor Dormant
10 – Poisoning Claude
11 – Bercy
12 – Your Sails
13 – Irrlichter
SIDE C – New Directions and Early Works
14 – Sicily
15 – Now I’m Gone
16 – Napoleon On The Bellerophon
17 – Interior of a Dutch House
18 – Fountains and Tramways
19 – Hot Air Balloon
SIDE D – The B-Sides
20 – Fisher Island Sound
21 – So Slowly
22 – Die Treue zum Ursprung
23 – The Crossing
24 – Zagora
25 – Le Phare Du Cap Bon
26 – Babylon
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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