Right now

I can't get enough of Beirut. An emailed newsletter of the type I seldom read but did this time contained a link... which I'm damn happy I clicked. Imagine Jens Lekman backed by a Klezmer Orchestra playing a Parisian cabaret. Drunken melodies, a gorgeous croon, thumping percussion, gypsy trumpets (and Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Barnes guesting); Beirut's 'Gulag Orkestar' is undoubtedly one of the highlights of 2006. Sounding ridiculously (Eastern) European, Beirut is just one bloke, Zach Condon, a 20 year old from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Go figure, listen to this:

Beirut | Postcards From Italy

then head over to his MySpace for further evidence of awsomeness.