Ask my girlfriend what I’ve listened to the near point of annoyance over the past week, and without a doubt she’ll respond The Flying Club Cup, the upcoming and highly anticipated album from Beirut. The extent of my recent infatuation reached its crest when I declared that given one wish I’d choose to have Zach Condon’s voice for a day so I could waltz around the neighborhood singing – and that’s about the point where I realized my admiration had gotten beyond my control.

Quite simply this record has really been one of the most refreshing things I’ve listened to the second half of the year. As a fan of Gulag Orkestar and (to a somewhat lesser extent) Lon Gisland, I can honestly say, with little reservations that this is Beirut in its finest hour.

Where the band once embodied Condon on his own with the occasional help from friends, it has now expanded to an almost ten piece collaboration. Our drooling would not have reached the magnitude that it has without a little help from our friends at La Blogotheque, who, in compiling one of the best music related sites on the net, have worked with Beirut to record a “Take Away Show” video for each of the tracks on The Flying Club Cup.

Beirut plays the Portage Theater in Chicago on Thursday, October 4th. The Flying Club Cup will be released October 9th, on Ba Da Bing Records.

Take a look at the video for “The Penalty,” our favorite album track to see and hear the bliss for yourself:

Myspace: Beirut
MP3: Beirut – A Sunday Smile
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Download: eMusic
Buy: Insound