Beirut brought a taste of their new album, Gallipoli, to the Late Show on Thursday, performing the LP’s title track. The exotic song is named for the Italian city it was written in, while musically, the band returns to its horns-laden roots.
Their performance tapped into that original sound, with singer Zach Condon leading a trio of horns players over a jolly, pulsating organ and percussion tune. The result is an indie-fanfare sound that resembles both the band’s original music, as well as the rural Italian town the new work was conceptualized in.
Gallipoli comes after a three-year hiatus following their 2015 record No No No. In the ensuing years, Condon and company traveled to New York, Italy and Berlin to bring back the ukulele-and-horns sounds of their early albums.
Beirut is preparing to embark on a tour in support of the new album. They’ll play a string of North American shows in February before packing up and taking the tour to Europe in late March.