Having dominated at the Western Canadian Music Awards this weekend, beloved Vancouver songwriter Dan Mangan has wasted no time in announcing his next release: a 7-inch called Radicals, due out October 16 through Arts & Crafts.
The single — which is named after what Mangan believes to be the most overused word in politics — includes two previously unheard cuts. The A-side is an Oh Fortune outtake called "We Want to Be Pleasantly Surprised, Not Expectedly Let Down," while the flip is a cover of Yukon Blonde's "Stairway."
In an email to fans, Mangan wrote that the A-side was left off Oh Fortune because "it didn't suit the rest of the record, and would have stuck out like a sore thumb."
He added, "The song is about the constant battle between our desire/need to have hope and optimism for humanity and the reality that we have a tendency to fall short in civil compassion."
As for the B-side, Mangan wrote, "I had a late night insomnia-inspired notion that I could cover a Yukon Blonde song and do it justice... I recorded the song really quickly with one take of each instrument (notice the shaky vocals) and then whipped up a little YouTube video to go with it."
Listen to both songs below. You'll be able to buy a vinyl copy at shows or purchase it digitally on the release date.
In other Mangan news, he will be touring Canada with the Rural Alberta Advantage this fall. See the schedule here. He's also nominated for the ECHO Songwriting Prize, while the documentary What Happens Next? will air nationally on CBC October 20. After that, the film will posted online.
The single — which is named after what Mangan believes to be the most overused word in politics — includes two previously unheard cuts. The A-side is an Oh Fortune outtake called "We Want to Be Pleasantly Surprised, Not Expectedly Let Down," while the flip is a cover of Yukon Blonde's "Stairway."
In an email to fans, Mangan wrote that the A-side was left off Oh Fortune because "it didn't suit the rest of the record, and would have stuck out like a sore thumb."
He added, "The song is about the constant battle between our desire/need to have hope and optimism for humanity and the reality that we have a tendency to fall short in civil compassion."
As for the B-side, Mangan wrote, "I had a late night insomnia-inspired notion that I could cover a Yukon Blonde song and do it justice... I recorded the song really quickly with one take of each instrument (notice the shaky vocals) and then whipped up a little YouTube video to go with it."
Listen to both songs below. You'll be able to buy a vinyl copy at shows or purchase it digitally on the release date.
In other Mangan news, he will be touring Canada with the Rural Alberta Advantage this fall. See the schedule here. He's also nominated for the ECHO Songwriting Prize, while the documentary What Happens Next? will air nationally on CBC October 20. After that, the film will posted online.
