Beirut has a band now as a consequence of touring, but Gulag Orkestar, their / his debut album, is actually a one man recording effort. You'd likely not guess that the person responsible was a nineteen year old guy from Arizona, given that the album is heavy on the horns and eastern-European influences, and completely lacking in guitars.

The album opens up with a swell of horns over top of a piano that badly needs (or doesn't need, rather) tuning. The title track serves as a pretty apt opener and introduction to Beirut; it's delightfully loose and sporadic. Like the rest of the album, it's not about technical precision so much as it's about the songs feeling and sounding inspired.

Postcards From Italy (available on the band site), is a ukulele (I think) based piece that's good in the first half but even better in the second. It's quirky and catchy, and is probably the song you want to listen to if you've only got the time to give one song a listen.

The entire album is great, really, though it took a few listens for me to warm up to the second half. It's excellent to hear a catchy, easily enjoyable indie album that's also as exotic and outside of the mainstream as Gulag Orkestar is. I can't recommend it enough.