Gulag Orkestar

Gulag Orkestar
Studio album by Beirut
Released	May 9, 2006
Genre	Balkan folk
Length	37:25
Label	Ba 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
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100 [2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+ [4]
The Guardian	[5]
NME	8/10 [6]
The Observer	[7]
Pitchfork	7.7/10 [8]
Q	[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Uncut	[11]
The Village Voice	B+ [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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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

• The EP's version of "Scenic World" differs from the first in that it has a slower, stronger sound and is entirely acoustic, with a violin and accordion replacing the original MIDI keyboard.

Personnel

Beirut

• Zach Condon - vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn, ukulele, percussion, mandolin, accordion, organ, piano, recording
• Heather Trost - violin
• Jeremy Barnes - percussion, accordion
• Perrin Cloutier - cello
• Hari Ziznewski - clarinet

Additional personnel

• Alan Douches - mastering
• Josh Clark - recording, mixing
• Ben Goldberg - photography (all but cover and back)

References

1. "Beirut's Condon Talks New LP, Obsession, Exhaustion". May 2007. Archived from the original on May 9, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
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 (February 2, 2009). "Indie rock band Beirut ventures south of the border". Reuters. Retrieved April 27, 2019.