Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Music

All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000

Upcoming &
Recent Releases

sort by namesort by score

70 AFI
65 Air
71 Alice In Chains
77 Amerie
70 Anjulie
85 The Antlers
75 Arctic Monkeys
68 As Tall As Lions
82 Atlas Sound
75 The Avett Brothers
67 Backstreet Boys
56 Bad Lieutenant
68 Devendra Banhart
72 Lou Barlow
88 Baroness
69 Basement Jaxx
81 David Bazan
72 Brendan Benson
72 The Big Pink
96 Big Star
46 Billy Talent
75 The Black Crowes
51 Black Mold
59 Amanda Blank
68 Blitzen Trapper
75 BLK JKS
77 A.A. Bondy
73 The Bottle Rockets
63 Box Elders
65 Boys Like Girls
76 Brand New
73 Tyondai Braxton
87 Brother Ali
70 Ian Brown
75 Michael Buble
78 Built To Spill
61 Colbie Caillat
79 Califone
68 Mariah Carey
84 Brandi Carlile
73 Julian Casablancas
83 Rosanne Cash
69 Castanets
65 The Cave Singers
84 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
79 Vic Chesnutt
75 Choir Of Young Believers
81 Circulatory System
68 The Clean
84 The Clientele
71 Cobra Starship
85 Converge
71 Eric Copeland
80 Cymbals Eat Guitars
71 Datarock
59 Dead By Sunrise
76 Dead Man's Bones
64 Desolation Wilderness
88 Destroyer
63 The Dodos
77 Drive-By Truckers
74 The Duke & The King
66 Bob Dylan
44 The Entrance Band
67 Esser
69 Fanfarlo
63 Felix Da Housecat
68 Fink
78 The Flaming Lips
66 Flight Of The Conchords
79 Florence And The Machine
67 John Fogerty
77 Fruit Bats
83 Fuck Buttons
71 Nelly Furtado
47 Gary Go
68 Ghostface Killah
79 Girls
59 Gloriana
69 Gossip
62 David Gray
66 David Guetta
79 Richard Hawley
74 Mayer Hawthorne
66 Headlights
79 HEALTH
77 Joe Henry
66 Hockey
69 Whitney Houston
68 Imogen Heap
59 Jack Ingram
79 Islands
73 Jessie James
74 Jamie T
83 Japandroids
65 Jay-Z
51 Jet
69 Daniel Johnston
76 Karen O And The Kids
72 Toby Keith
69 Kid Cudi
65 Kings Of Convenience
62 Sean Kingston
64 KISS
76 Kris Kristofferson
68 KRS-One & Buckshot
76 La Roux
84 Miranda Lambert
72 Ledisi
75 Sondre Lerche
56 Juliette Lewis
82 Lightning Bolt
76 Lightning Dust
73 Little Dragon
44 Pixie Lott
73 Lyle Lovett
66 Lovvers
75 Baaba Maal
77 Madness
84 Madonna
85 Manic Street Preachers
62 Maps
55 Massive Attack
57 Matisyahu
67 Reba McEntire
66 Tim McGraw
65 Brian McKnight
79 Mew
77 Malcolm Middleton
77 Mika
68 Amy Millan
76 Mission Of Burma
73 Modest Mouse
76 Molina And Johnson
80 Monsters Of Folk
62 Morrissey
85 Mount Eerie
78 The Mountain Goats
62 Múm
72 Muse
66 Willie Nelson
78 Nirvana
97 Nirvana
72 Nisennenmondai
80 No Age
71 Noah And The Whale
75 Noisettes
79 Nudge
68 Nurses
47 Dolores O'Riordan
74 Os Mutantes
73 Osso
81 Owen
76 Paramore
76 Pastels And Tenniscoats
51 Sean Paul
80 Pearl Jam
66 Jemina Pearl
72 Jack Penate
65 Phish
82 Pissed Jeans
61 Pitbull
79 A Place To Bury Strangers
63 Julian Plenti
66 Robert Pollard
79 Polvo
72 Porcupine Tree
80 Q-Tip
80 R.E.M.
89 Raekwon
69 Rain Machine
70 Ramona Falls
75 Dizzee Rascal
75 The Raveonettes
76 Jay Reatard
82 Reigning Sound
81 Rodrigo Y Gabriela
79 Russian Circles
69 Buffy Sainte-Marie
73 Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
61 Sally Shapiro
78 Shudder To Think
75 Sian Alice Group
70 Simian Mobile Disco
58 Simple Minds
72 Six Organs Of Admittance
69 Slaughterhouse
80 Slayer
61 The Slits
62 Mindy Smith
83 Solillaquists Of Sound
78 Soulsavers
77 Speech Debelle
58 Spiral Stairs
58 Squarepusher
55 Steel Panther
73 Sufjan Stevens
52 Rod Stewart
65 Joss Stone
75 George Strait
83 Barbra Streisand
76 A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74 Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
78 The Swell Season
76 David Sylvian
83 Taken By Trees
78 Tegan And Sara
68 The Temper Trap
72 Themselves
82 They Might Be Giants
67 Third Eye Blind
68 Throw Me The Statue
66 J Tillman
69 Times New Viking
57 Tokio Hotel
67 Trey Songz
71 The Twilight Sad
58 Carrie Underwood
56 The Used
68 Various Artists
70 Various Artists
74 Various Artists
77 The Very Best
71 Kurt Vile
67 Vivian Girls
71 Volcano Choir
76 Rufus Wainwright
59 Weezer
80 White Denim
76 Why?
83 Wild Beasts
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
59 Andrew W.K.
71 Patrick Wolf
67 Wolfmother
84 The xx
70 YACHT
75 Yim Yames
79 Yo La Tengo
83 Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
51 Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59 Zero 7

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

The Flying Club Cup

EMAILPRINTby Beirut

Beirut reviews
80
9.2 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 31 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 23 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >

Album Info

Label: Ba Da Bing!

Release Date: 09 October 2007

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Rock, Alternative, Folk

Summary

The follow-up album from the trio headed by Zach Condon.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91

Stylus Magazine

The debut album was good, but this is better. Much, much better; the kind of record I will happily and willingly return to long after this review is dead and buried.

Read Full Review >
91

Filter

There’s a melancholic beauty in the melodies of Zach Condon that conjure a cinematic romanticism.

Read Full Review >
90

Magnet

This album, like its predecessor, is stunning. [Fall 2007, p.91]

90

Hartford Courant

Credit Condon with a vivid imagination to go with his intuitive songwriting ability, and embrace The Flying Club Cup as one of the best albums of 2007.

Read Full Review >
89

Austin Chronicle

It's a slow-motion ballet immortalized on album.

Read Full Review >
85

cokemachineglow

This is one of the best albums of the year, from a verifiable talent and one of the scene’s most exciting young songwriters.

Read Full Review >
83

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Condon's theatrical croon and rich string arrangements hold the album together while it tells a musical story about the acculturation of the boozy.

Read Full Review >
80

The Guardian

Condon's rich, barrel-aged croon is buffeted by a whirl of brass, accordion, ukulele and Owen Pallett's fleet-footed strings, sweeping towards a finale so magnificently moving that the only correct response is a standing ovation.

Read Full Review >
80

Dot Music

Like a feral Arcade Fire making whoopee in the Third Republic, The Flying Cup Club is an often magical listen and deserving of a wider audience than it will probably reach.

Read Full Review >
80

Drowned In Sound

Despite being the unmistakable sound of Beirut, this is not the "Orkestar" extension so widely expected. Rather than congesting the listener with frantic Eastern European folk shanties, a poignant nobility and romantic notion of contemporary France permeates its way into your conscience with unbridled zeal.

Read Full Review >
80

Dusted Magazine

It might not be indie (whatever that means these days), and it’s certainly not rock, but The Flying Club Cup is consistent in its idyllic, perhaps idealistic charms.

Read Full Review >
80

Lost At Sea

One either engages with the gears of this get-up, or not. If you do, the delights abound from start to finish, and it really makes no difference whether each song intends to evoke a different French city, as they do on The Flying Club Cup.

Read Full Review >
80

musicOMH.com

For anyone seeking a new sound, in this case a vibrant take on Balkan folk through the eyes of a Westerner, there will be no disappointment.

Read Full Review >
80

Amazon.com

It's a more pensive presentation--dare I say it: more mature.

Read Full Review >
80

BBC collective

The new album conjures something of Condon’s own imagination, more deftly-etched romantic fiction than dry travelogue, and is all the better for it.

Read Full Review >
80

Pitchfork

Flying Club Cup would be a triumph even with those layers stripped away; that's not to say that the cultural patina obscures the "real" songs underneath, but its removal allows us to sidestep mind-numbing questions about authenticity and intention.

Read Full Review >
80

Q Magazine

Any charges of cultural tourism are rebuffed by the magnificence of the music. [Nov 2007, p.142]

80

Mojo

Condon has a tendency to over-emote vocally, but even at its most melodramatic this music's rhapsodic swirl is undeniable. [Nov 2007, p.104]

80

Uncut

If you can forgive Condon’s mannered delivery and overabundance of drunken waltz rhythms, this is an audacious experiment in cultural appropriation, an enchanting musical holiday in someone else’s misery.

Read Full Review >
80

All Music Guide

It's thoughtful and fun and sophisticated, utterly alluring, another fantastic success by Zach Condon.

Read Full Review >
78

Almost Cool

The Flying Club Cup doesn't feel quite as revelatory as the debut from the group. That said, it's still a solid follow-up, and the collaboration with Palette really pays dividends in grandiosity of sound.

Read Full Review >
70

Blender

The dramatic arc of these songs is built around the way instruments lurch into place and dance drunkenly around one another before staggering off once again.

Read Full Review >
70

Billboard

It's difficult at times, though, to pick out one song against another and some tracks are too same-y or too heavy-eyed for a second glance.

Read Full Review >
70

Under The Radar

Even if The Flying Club Cup is slightly less vital than the debut, Condon remains an ever-growing talent that bears plenty of notice. [Fall 2007, p.72]

70

Boston Globe

Condon's lyrics and his singing are nondescript at best, but Beirut retains a ragged majesty that can best be described as, well, French.

Read Full Review >
70

Spin

Beirut actually rock, in their extremely geeky way. [Nov 2007, p.114]

70

Prefix Magazine

It is a better album than its predecessor in almost every regard, but it hardly shows Condon taking risks.

Read Full Review >
60

NOW Magazine

Indulging in a baroque concept that includes chanson, 60s French café swing and lush pop, he has no qualms about pushing the drama levels vocally. He warbles yearning lyrics on songs like La Banlieue, Un Dernier Verre (Pour La Route), alongside swaying accordion waltzes such as The Penalty. Best served with croissants and café au lait.

Read Full Review >
60

Tiny Mix Tapes

The Flying Club Cup is a good album. If you’re a fan of "Gulag Orkestar," it’s probably a great album. But aside from 'Cliquot,' it’s more of the same.

Read Full Review >
50

PopMatters

On this disc, Beirut is a one trick pony, albeit one with a pretty good trick.

Read Full Review >
50

Rolling Stone

Committed to romantic lyricism above all, Condon isn’t quite the tunesmith to fully justify this passion, compensating with melismatic slurs and a Gallic disdain for consonants. These tics don’t do much for lyrics he’s clearly been working on

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 23 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Tom H. gave it a10:
A great second album from Beirut, beautiful and well worhty of critic's praise for it.

Jordan gave it a10:
Best album of 2007 IMO.

Eric C. gave it a9:
Well, they found their own sound and use it extremely well, something very few bands can say. The lack of guitars is bound to turn off more mainstream listeners, but once you get in to it, you realize that they don't need them, at all. A little over the top at times, but the mournful vocals are a strength in the end. Though very different, they somehow remind me of the Arcade Fire, a band that never lacks critical and public acclaim. So I can't help but be excited when I listen to this album, easily one of the year's best, because I hear endless potential. These guys are bound to produce a classic that will blow the indie scene away. Until then, we have two very good releases that will hopefully get them noticed.

d g gave it a10:
Another brilliant album from Beirut.

d g gave it a10:
Just beautiful music, with so many different sounds!

B Dub gave it an8:
Definitely one of my top ten of the year. I like this album a little more than their debut, it's a little more upbeat. I also felt that their debut fell off towards the end and that this album is more consistent. I have to say that i can usually predict metascores well and was shocked to see this album not highlighted as critically acclaimed. I recommend this album to fans of Decemberists, and DeVotchka, as they also use an old world sound. Personally i like Beirut more than both of them.

matt a gave it an8:
Not quite as gorgeous as his debut but still mostly wonderful. It's currently hovering right outside my top twenty of the year.

Read more user comments >

Popular on CBS sites: SEC Football | NFL | Video Game Cheats | iPhone | Video Game Reviews | Notebooks | Antivirus Software

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use