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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.

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Filter

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

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Magnet

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

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.

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Austin Chronicle

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Amazon.com

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

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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.

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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.

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Q Magazine

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

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]

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.

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All Music Guide

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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]

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.

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Spin

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

Prefix Magazine

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

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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.

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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.

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PopMatters

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

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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

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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.

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