dan mangan + blacksmith

dan mangan and blacksmith1

New Track From Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, “Kitsch”

I’ve become a bigger fan of Dan Mangan + Blacksmith this year, since hearing songs from his upcoming release of Club Meds (out Jan. 13th on A&C).  Vessel got a couple hundred spins here and now I’ve got another tune to switch it up with.  Today I bring you our third taste from the album called “Kitsch”, a song that references the original political concept of promoting an ideal view and omitting any inconvenient truths.  It is the album’s centrepiece and features layers of Dan’s trademark vocals built on a bed of percussion and brooding loops of synths and guitars.

dan mangan and blacksmith

New Music From Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, “Vessel”

Just when I assumed it would be a slow day for new music, I received a press release with a link to new music from Dan Mangan.  After a two year hiatus, an induction into fatherhood, and some time to regroup, Dan Mangan returns under a new moniker, Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, a name encompassing the spirit of the project’s longstanding ensemble members.  The song “Vessel” is the first single from their upcoming fourth studio album (out this fall on A&C) and is also an integral component to the soundtrack for the new Simon Pegg feature, Hector And The Search For Happiness, which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday.  Mangan and Jesse Zubot (Tanya Tagaq, Stars, Hawksley Workman) also composed the film’s score.

Dan Mangan + Blacksmith take to the road on this fall with stops in Toronto at The Opera House for Indie88’s first anniversary on September 13 and at Massey Hall with Hayden on February 28 as well as the BreakOut West 2014 Kick Off Party in Winnipeg on October 2.

Check out the trailer for “Hector and the Search For Happiness” (Looks to have a real Walter Mitty feel to it).