MARIA DUARTE is swept along by the cocky self-belief of a ping-pong hustler in a surprisingly violent drama
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Beirut, O2 Academy, Leeds
Consummate delivery of indie-pop postcards from all over the world
Mariachi masters: Beirut
[Pitpony Photography/ Creative Commons]
STEVE ANDREW recommends a lively and often moving guide to once vibrant spaces that have been abandoned or swept away
GEOFF BOTTOMS appreciates the local touch brought to a production of Dickens’s perennial classic
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a production whose design and cartoonish acting overwhelms the close scrutiny of characters
SUSAN DARLINGTON enjoys the raucous familiarity of a traditional topsy-turvy pantomime
RON JACOBS introduces the latest novel by the best writer of US working-class fiction writing today
A BEIRUT gig is the sonic equivalent of being gently hugged for 90 minutes. Soothing and reassuringly human in their tremulous detail, the six-piece have a wide-eyed innocence that makes them impossible to resist.
Their hopeless romanticism takes the wistfulness of Sufjan Stevens and the intimate grandeur of Arcade Fire as a starting point for songwriter Zach Condon’s itchy-footed road trip that imbues their indie-pop with Balkan-influenced accordion, folksy ukulele and mock mariachi brass.
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