Beirut is what it sounds like when you drop out of high school at age sixteen to travel Eastern Europe by yourself – or, at least it’s what happened when front man Zach Condon did that. Welcome to Balkan-inspired folk awesomeness, with a voice that soars like a trapeze act and music that lifts and leaps like it’s going out of style. I don’t know. I listen to them and think, circus? Cabaret? Moonlit boat ride? Solo strut down a rainy foreign alley? Whatever it’s reminiscent of, they’ve got something sexy and timeless about them. I have honestly listened to nothing else the past few weeks. Except for a healthy dose of Sinatra. But that’s another story completely. What the rest of the office is listening to: the sound of snot percolating all up in my sinuses. Sorry, everybody. — Caitlin MacRae
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