The big four oh! Looks like the podcast is approaching that hill… hopefully there’s no mid-life crisis awaiting on the other side. It’s hard to believe it’s already been forty episodes. Way back on May 18, 2006, Episode One was released. Over four years later (and almost sixty hours of music later!) and I’m still having tons of fun with it, and hopefully you’re still enjoying it.

This episode is 85 minutes of the usual. The first set begins with psychedelic American dream pop. Animal Collective show no signs of slowing down after their groundbreaking album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, with their new EP Fall Be Kind. Beach House’s new album is also sounding very very good. New Balearic favourite Tycho has released a new dreamy single. Heading north, no episode would be complete without some typically great Canadian folk, featuring Wilderness of Manitoba, The Wooden Sky, Said the Whale and Aidan Knight.

The episode is also full of some tremendous tracks from Iceland’s Hildur Guðnadóttir, Ben Frost, and Ólafur Arnalds and Sigur Rós‘ Jónsi. It continues to amaze me how much great music can come out of such a small country. More music from the continent include new stuff from Britain’s The Leisure Society and Rudi Arapahoe, Greece’s Blue Pilot Project, and two more tracks from Holland’s The Black Atlantic.

Check out The New Balearic on Twitter and Facebook.

Tracklisting: (1 hour, 28 minutes)

Animal Collective - ‘What Would I Want? Sky’ (Domino)
Toro Y Moi - ‘Blessa’ (Carpark)
Beach House - ‘Walk in the Park’ (Sub Pop)
Kelpe - ‘Caution Site’ (DC)
Alec Ounsworth - ‘South Philadelphia’ (Anti-)
Yukon Blonde - ‘Wind Blows’ (Nevado Records)
The Leisure Society - ‘The Last of the Melting Snow’ (Willkommen Records)
The Black Atlantic - ‘An Ocean and Peril’ (Beep! Beep! Back up the Truck)
Hildur Guðnadóttir - ‘Ascent’ (Touch)
Rudi Arapahoe - ‘To Gather Flowers/Forest of Arches’ (Symbolic Interaction)
The Wilderness of Manitoba - ‘Bluebirds’ (Independent)
The Wooden Sky - ‘Oslo’ (Black Box)
Said the Whale - ‘Holly, Ontario’ (Hidden Pony)
Blockhead - ‘Hell Camp’ (Ninja Tune)
Ochre - ‘Raido’ (Benbecula)
Tycho - ‘Coastal Brake’ (Ghostly International)
Jónsi - ‘Boy Lilikoi’ (XL)
Blue Pilots Project - ‘Million Clouds’ (Klik)
Ben Frost - ‘O God Protect Me’ (Bedroom Community)
Ólafur Arnalds - ‘Lokaou Augunum (Dyad 1909 version)’ (Erased Tapes)
Aidan Knight - ‘Sorrows/Jasper’ (Canadian Tuxedo)
Sea Wolf - ‘Orion & Dog’ (Dangerbird)
The Black Atlantic - ‘Madagascar’ (Beep! Beep! Back up the Truck)

Photo taken by Bruce Mans, All Rights Reserved.

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So apparently getting a Masters degree requires a lot of work. These past few weeks have been a mere blur, but I’ve recently found myself in a rare break from the work and thus…. Episode 39!

Oddly enough, the music industry doesn’t take many breaks either. Some amazing albums have been released since September. My Vancouver was at the centre of the action with some fascinating music from Said the Whale, You Say Party! We Say Die!, and two (2!) tracks from Victoria’s Aidan Knight! This episode also features my favourite Dan Mangan song… Elsewhere in Canada, I’ve got some hearty folk from Alberta’s The Wooden Sky and Montreal’s Bent by Elephants, and a pair of spooky slow brewers from Dead Man’s Bones and Montreal’s Champion.

Across the pond, Bibio has been working on a wonderful Boards of Canada cover for the recent 20th Anniversary of Warp Records, while Burial helped christen 5 years of existence at Hyperdub with a new track. England’s The xx also feature in a pair of tracks, remixing Florence + the Machine and performing there own ‘Crystalized‘. And of course the podcast wouldn’t be complete without some American folk, with Horse Feathers, Sea Wolf, and Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah’s Alec Ounsworth doing the honours this episode. We’ll see you in December!

Oh and, don’t forget to check out The New Balearic on Twitter and Facebook.

Tracklisting: (1 hour, 20 minutes)

Said the Whale - ‘Dear Elkhorn’ (Upper Management Records)
Sea Wolf - ‘Spirit Horse’ (Dangerbird)
Aidan Knight - ‘The Sun’ (Canadian Tuxedo)
The Wooden Sky - ‘River Song One’ (Black Box)
Bibio - ‘Kaini Industries (Boards of Canada cover)’ (Warp)
Kelpe - ‘Eye Candy Bath’ (DC)
Lusine - ‘Tin Hat’ (Ghostly International)
Dead Man’s Bones - ‘Dead Hearts’ (Werewolf Heart)
Champion - ‘L6 (The Blooded)’ (Saboteur)
You Say Party! We Say Die! - ‘There is XXXX (Within My Heart)’ (Paper Bag)
Alec Ounsworth - ‘Holy, Holy, Holy Moses (Song for New Orleans)’ (Anti-)
The Black Atlantic - ‘I Shall Cross This River’ (Beep! Beep! Back up the Truck)
Dan Mangan - ‘Basket’ (Independent)
Silent Strike - ‘Alb’ (La Strada)
Burial - ‘Fostercare’ (Hyperdub)
Ochre - ‘Napolese’ (Benbecula)
Florence + the Machine - ‘You’ve Got The Love (the xx remix)’ (Island)
The xx - ‘Crystalized’ (Young Turks)
Bent By Elephants - ‘Mollie’s Song’ (Cooling Pie)
Aidan Knight - ‘Altar Boys’ (Canadian Tuxedo)
Horse Feathers - ‘Orphan Girl’ (Kill Rock Stars)

Photo taken by Bruce Mans, All Rights Reserved.

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The time has come for another fantastic ninety odd minutes on The New Balearic. Summer is over, classes have started, but thankfully, the music always continues…

This episode is happy to welcome back some familiar sounds. Port O’Brien is back with a somber and melodic track from their upcoming album Treadbare. One of my favourite artists, Lusine is also on the verge of another full length, which I am very impressed with… and I’ve got a new track for you by him. Also featured from the American Pacific Coast is some impressive new tracks from Sea Wolf and The Dodos.

Of course it wouldn’t be a new episode without some fantastic new bands, and 38 doesn’t disappoint in that category either. Sweden’s Little Dragon and Taken By Trees both take care of beginning and ending this episode, while Vancouver is well represented with great new music by Dan Mangan, Lightning Dust, and Dan Bejar’s Destroyer. From the UK, I’ve also got a pair of tracks from The xx and electronic artist Gold Panda, respectively. Expect to hear a lot from both of those in the future. I’m also very excited to introduce the very first track on the New Balearic by a band from the Netherlands! The Black Atlantic, from Groningen (the birthplace of my Oma), have just released a really great album, and I’ll be doing a Spotlight on them soon, so stay tuned from that. To wrap things up, I’ve also got a remake of Fink’s “Sort of Revolution” by the Cinematic Orchestra, and Radiohead’s new track needs no introduction…

And so with that… happy listening!

Don’t forget to check out The New Balearic on Twitter and Facebook.

Tracklisting: (1 hour, 28 minutes)

Little Dragon - ‘A New’ (Love-Da-Records)
Port O’Brien - ‘My Will Is Good’ (TBD Records)
Lightning Dust - ‘Dreamer’ (Jagjaguwar)
Destroyer - ‘Bay of Bigs’ (Merge)
Lusine - ‘Operation Costs’ (Ghostly International)
Bersarin Quartett - ‘Oktober’ (Lidar)
Radiohead - ‘Harry Patch (In Memory Of)’ (Self Released)
Fink - ‘Sort Of Revolution (The Cinematic Orchestra Remix) ‘ (Ninjatune)
The Black Atlantic - ‘Reverence For Fallen Trees” (Beep! Beep! Back up the Truck)
Volcano Choir - ‘Island, IS’ (Jagjaguwar)
Sea Wolf - ‘The Orchard’ (Dangerbird)
Dan Mangan - ‘Robots’ (Independent)
Feathership - ‘Thunderclapping’ (Maisonnette)
Kings of Convenience - ‘Boat Behind’ (Virgin)
AB - ‘00000001′ (Anonymous)
Kronos Quartet - ‘Tashweesh (Nonesuch)
Gold Panda - ‘Lonely Owl’ (Independent)
Pogo - ‘Bangarang’ (Self Released)
The xx - ‘Islands’ (Young Turks)
The Dodos - ‘Fables’ (Frenchkiss)
Still Life Still - ‘Lite-Bright Lawns’ (Arts & Crafts)
Taken by Trees - ‘My Boys’ (Rough Trade)

Photo taken by Bruce Mans, All Rights Reserved.

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I realize a overwhelming majority of these spotlights are on Canadian artists, and while this wasn’t intentional, it is welcomed. Canada is bursting at the seems with amazing talent. Recently, I’ve written about Montreal’s Our Book and the Authors, and Calgary’s Jordan Klassen. It’s about time to look at a fantastic artist closer to home. I’ve been meaning to write about this artist for awhile now.

Dan Mangan is a songwriter from Vancouver, and has just released a brand new full length album called Nice, Nice, Very Nice. Ironically, when you first hear his album you would think to yourself that indeed it is ‘nice’. It’s when you’re singing his songs in your head for the rest of the day and desperate to get home so you can play the album again when you would admit it’s ‘nice, nice, very nice’.

The new album is yet another typically awesome modern folk album which is becoming a trademark of Canadian independent music. Most of the songs of Nice, Nice, Very Nice hinge on the provoking, often amusing lyrics and delightfully raw voice of Mangan. Each song then adds a unique instrumental touch, including classic toe-tapping acoustic riffs, mellow piano pieces, and short, Andrew Bird-esqe strings. The result is a classy, tactful and mature effort from another young and emerging Canadian folk artist. Nice, Nice, Very Nice is just that, and more. It’s really, really nice. Check it out.

Similar to: Patrick Watson, Andrew Bird, Hayden

Download:
Dan Mangan - Road Regrets
Dan Mangan - Tina’s Glorious Comeback

Buy Nice, Nice, Very Nice at Dan’s website.

Dan Mangan on MySpace