New Song by Beirut, "No No No" (New Album Out September 11 & NYC Tour Date October 1)

Zach Condon (Photo Courtesy 4AD)

Just days after the title track "No No No" from Beirut's upcoming album was released, it's already getting steady airplay on my favorite online radio outlets KEXP and KCRW. At first listen you could tell right away it was Beirut back with new material, with the signature worldly approach of Santa Fe native Zach Condon. The song is more like a whimsical ditty, harboring a complexity that belies Condon's troubadour vocals. His main instruments are ukulele and flugelhorn, but has a command of many others - even adding in a conch shell on 2007's The Flying Club Cup.

No No No is the first release since The Rip Tide in 2011. Two tracks from that album, "Sante Fe" and "East Harlem," appeared on my Fall 2011 New Music Playlist at the time. But after extensive touring in support of the collection, Condon landed in an Australian hospital to treat exhaustion. When I caught the band at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry festival in 2012, Condon seemed to have such a casual command of his musical powers. (Check out a video from the night of "The Elephant Song" below.) Of course, all this provided a deep source for creativity as these things generally do. After a full recovery, Condon is planning live dates with an expanded touring band this fall with a stop at Radio City Music Hall October 1.  Take a listen to the new song here or on YouTube and look for the new album September 11 via 4AD.