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The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

CD Review-March of the Zapotec and Realpeople Holland

Playing this kind of Beirut will not result in herpes, but it just might get you laid.

Singer/songwriter Zachary Condon returns to serenade us with the sounds of oompas and mariachi horns. With songs like “La Llorona” and “My Night with the Prostitute from Marsielles,” Condon tells tales of love with a playfully maudlin lien.

His vocals sometimes sound like Rufus Wainwright, and that’s not bad. And as always, the influence of 1950’s French crooner Jacques Brel is unmistakable.

Like Condon’s sound from his previous band Realpeople, Beirut’s “My Wife, Lost in the Wild” has that nagging synth-pop quality, endemic to the euro-club genre. But it does still get heads bopping.

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In less talented hands, such fusion would be a cacophonous gimmick. But here, it is simply good musicianship. Blending influences yields an effective and infectious double hitter. Just try not to spill your lover’s glass of cabernet as you both twirl lovingly about the bedroom.

4 Stars out of 5

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