Beirut

Sometimes you just need a nice vacation to Europe. I myself have never traveled to Europe, but I'm positive that Beirut's newest release, The Flying Club Cup would be the perfect album for the trip. In fact, I can easily imagine myself driving through Eastern Europe in tiny car with this album blasting through my headphones. Everything about this album makes me think Europe; from the presence of the accordion and ukulele, to the random clips of foreign languages being spoken in the background.

Zach Condon, the mastermind behind Beirut, hails from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Oh yeah, and he's only 22, with two albums and three EP's to his name. Though sticking to the ukulele most of time, he also plays a number of other instruments that appear on his albums, such as trumpet, and the accordion. How he can successfully create such a uniquely rich sound with so many European influences, along with his incredibly smooth voice is beyond me. Trumpets, violins, accordion, ukulele, clarinets and an array of percussive instruments... 22 years old and already rivaling veteran bands such as Neutral Milk Hotel and The Decemberists. Truly amazing.

I say you give Beirut a try. You just might get to take that trip to Europe that you've always dreamed of. Listen to Beirut here.