The Wilderness of Manitoba has a new album: turns out its not about my youth!

I will start with explaining the title of this post – I am in fact, from the wilderness of Manitoba (born and raised) but the album unfortunately is not about me.  Its about best new music time, that what it is about!

The new album is “When You Left The Fire” and is simply gorgeous.  We all know the previous album/EP “Hymns of Love and Spirits” was a feat in itself and this new album builds on that.  I am not sure if they sound more cohesive (now that the band has grown in members over the years), but maybe that is how I think it sounds?  I don’t pretend to know about their growth from album to album, but this release is pretty darn slick.  They have taken songs like “Evening” and “Bluebirds” from the previous album and moved to a fuller indie folk sound (not literally those songs, but you get it).   Maybe going from basement to studio can do that – I am just glad the polish doesn’t shine more than the songs themselves, they pull it off soo well.

Something else I noticed is a slightly 60’s folk influence in the album (think of how Midlake sound both retro and contemporary) – in “Golden Beets” and you start to think of this now-timeless style of music, then “November” comes along and you get a slide guitar and acoustics from 40 years ago…and it works like gangbusters!  The song is stunning with vocal harmonies and that haunting guitar hovering the entire time!  Now that I mention it, maybe that 60’s influence I think I hear is a sort of atmospheric element to the sound now, especially with the male/female vocal harmonies – they aren’t only making fantastic busking folk tunes that play well in a courtyard, this is also folk music that can enjoy a great set of headphones.  I thought I heard these elements in songs like “Sea Song” and “St. Petersburg” and the upbeat (or upp-er beat) “Orono Park”, but I was trying to listen and type words about it (like right now) and I am not sure if it is coming out right.  I also have to be honest, I haven’t been listening long enough to fully form my thoughts on it, but I had to just get this out there, its good and you need to have TWOM on the radar.

Listen to the first track taster from the album (due out June 22nd, 2010) in a frickin’ great tune – I loved it immediately:

“Hermit” – The Wilderness of Manitoba, from 2010’s “When You Left The Fire”

Also find a previous video of the band performing a track that ended up on the new album, “Orono Park” from the good folks at Southern Souls.

THE WILDERNESS OF MANITOBA – Orono Park from Mitch Fillion on Vimeo.

TOUR DATES!

May 01 – London, UK @ @ Fiddler’s Elbow w/ The RAA — Canadian Blast
May 02 — London, UK @ The Spread Eagle — The Camen Crawl
May 03 — Brixton, UK @ The Windmill w/ Artur Dyjecinski
May 04 — London, UK @ The Slaughtered Lamb w/ Octoberman
May 05 — Brighton, UK @ The Prince Albert w/ Thirty Pounds of Bone
May 06 — Birmingham, UK @ The Edge
May 07 — London, UK @ Pure Groove In-Store

Find out more about why you to should find yourself in The Wilderness of Manitoba:

~Smansmith