Dan Mangan + Blacksmith Club Meds

Dan Mangan + Blacksmith recently debuted “Vessel” the lead single from their upcoming album Club Meds and a part of the soundtrack for Simon Pegg’s indie film Hector And The Search For Happiness. After a two year hiatus, an induction into fatherhood, and some time to regroup, two-time JUNO Award-winner Dan Mangan has returned under a new moniker, Dan Mangan + Blacksmith. The new name encompasses the spirit of the project’s longstanding ensemble members joining the band from Vancouver's experimental music community, Kenton Loewen, Gordon Grdina, John Walsh (and often Jesse Zubot, JP carter and Tyson Naylor) with a communal sensibility that merits the marquee amendment.

Produced by Colin Stewart and Dan Mangan, Club Meds at times evokes images of subtler American-underground innovators like Blonde Redhead or Steve Reich. At other moments, it hits emotional pay dirt reminiscent of British scene-survivors like Peter Gabriel or Radiohead. Blacksmith brings an unmistakable character to Club Meds; a stark glassy edge that swells and sways like a roaring ocean. Through a fog of analog feedback loops and synths, the band's performances breathe deeply and steadily like a dragon at rest.

“Sedation is massive. It surrounds us like a thick wet blanket. To be numb is to allow others to control your reality. It makes some people feel better, to know that you suffer also, that their numbness is shared like a virus. But unity in numbness is a façade, and not nearly as magical as a unity born of awakeness. Club Meds is about sedation. Sedation can be chemical, but not exclusively so. There is a great vacation from actuality going on. Maybe it’s always been there. It seems like everybody else is already at the party and that life is somehow easier or more fun under the fog. But instead, it only makes people feel more alone, more dangerous, more desperate. It’s okay, though. We’re all just particles.”

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