Gulag Orkestar
Studio album by
Beirut
ReleasedMay 9, 2006
GenreBalkan folk
Length37:25
LabelBa Da Bing
Beirut chronology
Gulag Orkestar
(2006) 		Lon Gisland
(2007)

Gulag Orkestar is the debut album of Beirut. It was recorded in 2005 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Gulag was a Soviet government agency administering criminal justice, while orkestar is the Serbo-Croatian word for "orchestra".

It is written in the booklet that the front and back photos were found in a library in Leipzig, torn out of a book. The original photographer was unknown to the creators of the album while it was recorded, but has since been discovered to be Sergey Chilikov.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[4]
The Guardian[5]
NME8/10[6]
The Observer[7]
Pitchfork7.7/10[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Uncut[11]
The Village VoiceB+[12]

The album has received great critical acclaim and was later re-released to include the Lon Gisland EP.

As of 2009, sales in the United States have exceeded 79,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[13]

Track listing

Many song titles are named after toponyms in Europe, such as cities, states and neighborhoods. Prenzlauerberg is a locality in Berlin. Brandenburg and Rhineland are geographical areas in Germany. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia.

All tracks are written by Zach Condon

No.TitleLength
1."The Gulag Orkestar"4:38
2."Prenzlauerberg"3:46
3."Brandenburg"3:38
4."Postcards from Italy"4:17
5."Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)"3:15
6."Rhineland (Heartland)"3:58
7."Scenic World"2:08
8."Bratislava"3:17
9."The Bunker"3:13
10."The Canals of Our City"2:21
11."After the Curtain"2:54
Total length:37:25
UK Version Bonus CD: Lon Gisland
No.TitleLength
1."Elephant Gun"5:48
2."My Family's Role in the World Revolution"2:07
3."Scenic World"2:53
4."The Long Island Sound"1:18
5."Carousels"4:23
Total length:16:29

Personnel

Beirut
Additional personnel

References

  1. ^ "Beirut's Condon Talks New LP, Obsession, Exhaustion". May 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-05-09. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  2. ^ "Reviews for Gulag Orkestar by Beirut". Metacritic. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  3. ^ Mason, Stewart. "Gulag Orkestar – Beirut". AllMusic. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  4. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (May 26, 2006). "Gulag Orkestar". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  5. ^ Clarke, Betty (November 3, 2006). "Beirut, Gulag Orkestar". The Guardian. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  6. ^ "Beirut: Gulag Orkestar". NME: 33. November 4, 2006.
  7. ^ Mardles, Paul (October 15, 2006). "Beirut, Gulag Orkestar". The Observer. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  8. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (May 11, 2006). "Beirut: Gulag Orkestar". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  9. ^ "Beirut: Gulag Orkestar". Q (245): 141. December 2006.
  10. ^ Gitlin, Lauren (August 11, 2006). "Beirut: Gulag Orkestar". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 21, 2006. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  11. ^ "Beirut: Gulag Orkestar". Uncut (112): 83. September 2006.
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert (July 25, 2006). "Consumer Guide: History Lessons". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  13. ^ Ayers, Michael (2 February 2009). "Indie rock band Beirut ventures south of the border". Reuters. Retrieved 27 April 2019.


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