After a four-year absence — and just two years after Zach Condon’s tour cancellation following severe exhaustion — Beirut will return with a new album called No No No on September 11. Ahead of that project’s release, the Santa Fe band shared the soulful, uptempo title track (below). They’ll also tour on behalf of the record (dates here), including an October 1 stop at New York’s famed Radio City Music Hall.
A press release on behalf of Beirut details Condon’s mental health issues and the dried spout of creativity that followed:
But now post Australia he finds himself back at home in Brooklyn and unable to write songs. It was 2014, and at age 28 he found himself completely lost. “I couldn’t fathom how one day I was capable of it and one day I wasn’t,” Condon remarks. The darkness clouding his physical and mental health had fully infected his creative and artistic abilities.
But this darkness contained a spark of light: he had fallen in love with a woman who inspired him to turn it around. Condon recalls, “having a positive presence like her both provides a healthy guiding force and shines a light on all the negative things in your life. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am now without her.” The two retreated to Turkey Summer of 2014, which proved to be the ultimate keystone in his personal renewal. It has since become their second home, providing perspective in both geographical and political landscapes. He was taken in and cared for by her family there for months (she is Turkish), and given a home base to build abilities. around, all during the summer of the Gezi Park riots.
With all that contest, hear “No No No” below, and check out the album’s track list too.
Beirut, No No No track list:
1. “Gibraltar”
2. “No No No”
3. “At Once”
4. “August Holland”
5. “As Needed”
6. “Perth”
7. “Pacheco”
8. “Fener”
9. “So Allowed”
