BEIRUT-La Llorona

It looks like the B of 2009 is going to be quite disputed, with two of our favourite chamber pop bands returning. The first of them, Beirut, is meant to release a new album in the autumn, but before that there’s a new record compiling two EPs that showcase Zach Condon’s two different musical directions: His usual, gypsy-flavoured, itinerant orchestra has carried on travelling the world, moving from turn of the century Paris to the Latin American latitudes of Oaxaca, Mexico in “March Of The Zapotec”; back to back with a return to the laptop electronica of his origins, under the moniker of Realpeople, in “Holland EP” .

The second, Glasgow Finest, Belle & Sebastian, will be following the steps of many of their heroes from the sixties and fulfilling another of their pop dreams with the release of their first musical movie, for which they have been auditioning in search of two new female vocalists. “God Help The Girl’s” soundtrack, scheduled to see the light by the end of the year, will include brand new versions of popular classics next to a whole lot of new tracks and could become one of the year’s most pleasant highlights.

Other noteworthy contenders for the B: Read the rest of this entry »