March of the Zapotec/Holland EP

After the remarkable efforts of Gulag Orkestar and The Flying Club Cup, Zach Condon's offbeat hybridization of traditional Eastern European motifs and Western indie pop reached a glorious pinnacle. But where take things from there? Rather than resting on his laurels, the 23-year-old Santa Fe native packed his bags, hopped on a plane to the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, and began recording a selection of new material with local 19-piece collective the Jimenez Band. Aided by a translator to help communicate their compositional ideas, Condon and his coh orts worked tirelessly on March of the Zapotec, a slew of songs composed in the small weaver village of Teotitlan del Valle during the spring of 2008.

You certainly can't accuse Zach Condon of resting on his laurels. Following up 2007's extraordinary Flying Club Cup was never going to be easy: but instead of reprising that album's Balkan-tinged hurdy-gurdy chamber music, he's kicked off 2009 by zipping off at two different tangents altogether.