Zach Condon has returned with “The Tern.” The track is off Beirut’s forthcoming album, Hadsel, available November 10th via his own Pompeii Records. The full-length is named after the life-changing location that inspired its creation.

After persistent throat issues forced Condon to cancel Beirut’s remaining tour dates in 2019, he questioned whether he would ever be able to play a live show again, stumbling blindly through a shocking cloud of self-doubt, and the impending mental collapse he had been pushing aside since he was a teenager. Seeking refuge in a remote area of Northern Norway, where the sun barely rose above the horizon, he soon proved to himself that he can once again manage on his own: surrounded by snow-covered mountains, sprawling fjords and fearsome storms, he began forming the foundation of these 12 tracks inside a small cabin and a 19th Century, octagonal church. By the grace of a local collector named Oddvar, Condon spent his nights writing and recording at the Hadselkirke’s towering organ, and songs like “The Tern” encapsulate the album’s way of finding warmth, solace and rebirth in the most extreme darkness.

“The Tern,” follows single “So Many Plans,” Zach Condon explains, “The base of this song comes from an old Roland synthesizer and drum machine part which I had lying around from a previous Berlin session. The lyrics I improvised on the spot and finished the song off by adding layers of church organs and hand percussion. I stacked the parts high despite always being afraid of overdoing it. In the end I was confused how I had written such a seemingly positive and even hopeful song, but once I took a closer look at the lyrics, I saw the real nature of the hidden defeat and triumph of caution rather than of hope.”

February 16th and 17th, 2024, sees Zach Condon will return to the stage for Beirut’s first live shows since that fateful 2019 tour. At the magnificent Tempodrom in his current home city of Berlin, Condon will be joined by an ensemble of new and returning members including Aaron Arntz (piano), Ben Lanz (trombone/sousaphone/piano), Clarice Jensen (cello), Griffin Rodriguez (bass), Kyle Resnick (trumpet), Nick Petree (drums/percussion) and Yuki Numata (violin). As the only concerts he plans to perform in support of the entirely self-written, self-recorded and self-produced Hadsel, Condon and the band will expand the music from its solitary roots and combinations of modular synths, baritone uke and horns.

Pre-order Hadsel by Beirut HERE