During the tour for his Gallipoli album Zach Condon had persistent throat issues and had to cancel the remaining shows, wondering what impact this would have on his future music. He relocated to the remote island of Hadsel, located in northern Norway. With minimal daylight and living in a secluded cabin, inspired by the beauty of the region and the local Hadselkirke church organ, Hadsel is the sixth Beirut album. Zach explains how the album came to be, “During my time in Hadsel, I worked hard on the music, lost in a trance and stumbling blindly through my own mental collapse that I had been pushing aside since I was a teenager”. Now whilst that might sound like the album is going to be a difficult listen, it’s far from it as the creation of this uplifting music acted as a catharsis of sorts.
With a plethora of instruments utilised including the aforementioned church organ, baritone ukelele, French horn, hand drums, shakers and old drum machines, trumpet, modular synthesisers to name but a few, Zach is a very talented musician. The album opens with the organ bumping a sprightly lilting groove on the title track ‘Hadsel’. The melody is sweetly uplifting, and Zach’s voice is like liquid honey. ‘Arctic Forest’ has a rumbling deeply layered percussive groove that slithers along and Zach’s delicate harmonies are sumptuous and appear effortless. The soothing piano on ‘Baion’, coupled with the ukelele (?) and beautiful twinkling tones make for a magical otherworldly fusion.
Born of the tragedy and lockdown anxiety brought on by the Covid pandemic the gorgeous ‘So Many Plans’ is a reminder of times we hope to never see again, albeit those affected are left with a different memory. Zach sings a stunning melody with a tenderness that is so touching. The brass work on this song is exquisite. The lovely organ tones on instrumental ‘Melbu’ are a ray of sunshine despite the melancholy chords being played. Over a quirky tapping beat the brass parps and stabbing keyboards of ‘Stokmarknes’ are not quite as engaging as the other songs. ‘Island Life’ has a cleverly arranged set of percussion that actually sounds like something is being splashed and as the mournful harmonies reach their crescendo it’s stunning and beautiful.
The swirling synths of ‘Spillhaugen’ sound all modern amidst a myriad of wondrous instrumentation. It reminds me of The Magnetic fields which might explain my draw to this music, albeit I had Beirut albums prior to discovering the delights of Stephin Merritt. As the track builds, Zach’s voice is layered immaculately and it’s glorious. ‘January 18th‘ has the same organic throb as ‘Hadsel’ but with added swirling synths and a tribal beat. Zach really knows how to arrange instruments and by the end of the song there’s a world of tones and percussion all mingling wondrously. ‘Süddeutsches Ton-Bild-Studio’ is a yearning song built on gentle percussion with some gorgeous melodies and voices. ‘The Tern’ has one of the best melodies on the album, despite being one of the simplest, though Zach doesn’t do complication with his way with melody. The complexity comes from the arrangements of the instruments which is incredible throughout this album. Finally ‘Regulatory’ features a warm organ lapping like waves rolling onto a sun kissed beach, as subtle clanking percussion rattles underneath.
It’s been a long while since I gave Beirut my attention, but the draw of leading single ‘So Many Plans’ pulled me in with those alluring harmonies and lush tones. Amidst the bluster of a lot of the music I frequently listen to it’s essential for balance to find an oasis of calm to ease back into. Hadsel is a beautiful recording and a reminder of the immense talent that Zach Condon has.
