"Were so bored, there's nothing to do" sings Dan Mangum on 'XVI' a song from the excellent follow- up to 2012's 'Nice Nice Very Nice'. This time around on 'Club Meds', Dan credits the band so we have Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, as he is joined by his long-time -now integral- band members Kenton Loewen (drums), Gordon Grdina (guitar), John Walsh (bass) together with, JP Carter (trumpet), Jesse Zubot (violin) and Tyson Naylor (keys).
There is so much music out there today that no one can hope to hear it all but, if you have a spare fifty minutes to listen to this album then you will be richly rewarded with a truly interesting listen!
Without doubt my favourite album of the year (so far … I know its January, but). If you are looking for a touchstone sound, then I would lean towards TV on the Radio and Modest Mouse. The songs are engaging, the music superb and the overall vibe is engrossing. Dan has a gritty/gruff voice that gives the songs depth. This is actually a change of direction for Dan as ‘Club Meds’ sees him step from the singer-songwriter bracket, into full band mode and it’s a seamless transistion.
“I used to be emotionally crippled at times by the need for others to enjoy my work” Dan says, explaining the palpable sense of freedom in the recordings this time round. “I trust my gut more now, and end up happier with the product.”
Album title and theme, ‘Club Meds’, refers to a notion that we increasingly choose to medicate rather than deal with reality. “Club Meds is about sedation” Dan writes in the record’s liner notes. “Sedation can be chemical, but not exclusively so. There is a great vacation from actuality going on. Maybe there always has been. It seems like everybody else is already at the party and that life is somehow easier or more fun under the fog.”
Get down to your local record store this weekend, you won't be disappointed.
Pete
10/11
1. Offred
2. Vessel
3. Mouthpiece
4. A Doll's House / Pavlovia
5. Kitsch
6. XVI
7. War Spoils
8. Forgetery
9. Club Meds
10. Pretty Good Joke
11. New Skies
See Dan Mangan + Blacksmith live:
APRIL 2015
9th - Cologne, DE - Gebäude 9
10th - Lausanne, CH - Le Romandie
11th - Zurich, CH - Mascotte
12th - Graz, AT - Postgarage
13th - Vienna, AT - Wuk
14th - Munich, DE - Strom
15th - Dresden, DE - Beatpol
16th - Berlin, DE - Postbahnhof
17th - Hamburg, DE - Übel & Gefährlich
18th - Bremen, DE - Nordlicht Festival
19th - Heidelberg, DE - Querbeet Festival
20th - Gent, BE - Cafe Video
21st - Amsterdam, NE - Paradiso (Upstairs)
22nd - Paris, FR - Batofar
24th - Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute
25th - Glasgow, UK - Oran Mor
27th - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
28th - Bristol, UK - The Thekla
29th - Brighton, UK - Komedia
30th - London, UK - Islington Assembly Hall