Despite his Albuquerque roots and the Lebanese reference of his band name, Beirut mainman Zach Condon is a musical Europhile. Now based in Berlin, he was initially seduced by Balkan traditions on 2005 debut Gulag Orkestar and later by the Italian town after which he named 2019 album Gallipoli. Latest album Hadsel was recorded on, and named after, a Norwegian island in the far north-west of the country. Hanging on by his fingertips, Condon found healing in a pre-covid Arctic winter of dramatic storms and northern lights displays, lugging his portable studio to the community church to play its antique organ.

That instrument huffs and puffs at the album’s heart, showcased to characterful effect on its opening title track before Condon layers on some harmony vocals and his signature mournful brass sound. ‘Arctic Forest’ is a dreamy choral devotional embellished with shakers and wooden percussion while ‘Melbu’ comprises a melancholy pump organ drone. Elsewhere on this solo odyssey, Condon applies lashings of synthesizer, from the ethereal ecclesiastical ‘Spillhaugen’ to the cute analogue quirks of ‘January 18th’, and breaks out the baritone ukulele on the whimsical ‘Süddeutsches Ton-Bild-Studio’ to expand his charming chamber pop repertoire. 

Beirut: Hadsel is released by Pompeii Records on Friday 10 November.