Gulag Orkestar

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Gulag Orkestar
File:Gulag Orkestar (Front Cover).png
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 9, 2006
GenreBalkan folk
Length37:25
LabelBa 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

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svg[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[4]
The GuardianStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[5]
NME8/10[6]
The ObserverStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[7]
Pitchfork7.7/10[8]
QStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[9]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svg[10]
UncutStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[11]
The Village VoiceB+[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

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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.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
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

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

References

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