Canadian 5-piece ‘The Wilderness of Manitoba’ have announced details of a new six-track EP release for the UK which will coincide with their forthcoming UK tour dates. During the recording of their forthcoming album, ‘Island of Echoes’ (due for UK release in early 2013) it was apparent that the songwriters of The Wilderness of Manitoba had far too many songs than could be accommodated in a single album, so, to coincide with their summer dates in the UK and the Netherlands, it was decided to prepare a special EP for their English and Dutch fans. That EP is called ‘Delaware House’ after the house in Toronto where all of the band at one time or another lived and where they have their basement studio.
Written by Will Whitwham, the first song on the EP, ‘The Ark’, foreshadows the new album, ‘Island of Echoes’, with its lush vocal arrangements and use of electric guitars. You can download it below:
Forest City Love
The remaining songs have an almost British folk/rock feel to them harking back to the heyday of bands like Fairport Convention, Fotheringay and Pentangle, albeit in a completely contemporary way.
For those of you who have caught one of The Wilderness of Manitoba’s live shows over the past two years, you may have been lucky enough to hear ‘Forest City Love’ written by Scott Bouwmeester and Stefan Banjevic. ‘Yellow Yard’ is the vocal and songwriting debut of Amanda Balsys. She brings another unique voice to an already strong group of singers and songwriters. ‘Revolutionary Blues’ chugs along on a rhythmic banjo riff and ‘Frozen Farm’, written by Will Whitwham and Stefan Banjevic, is a haunting acoustic song sung again by Amanda.
The EP comes full circle with ‘Reprise (the Waltz)’, which refers back to the vocal themes of ‘The Ark’. For fans of the Wilderness of Manitoba, this is an aural treat and a must listen.
Tour Dates
25th July / Lexington, London TICKETS
26th July / Arts Centre, Colchester
27th July / WOMAD Festival
28th July / Underground, Cheltenham
29th July / Prince Albert, Brighton
31st July / Windmill, Brixton
1st August / Portland Arms, Cambridge
3rd August / The Paradiso, Amsterdam
4th August / Duizel In The Park Festival, Netherlands
5th August / In Vervoering Festival, Netherlands
The ‘Delaware House’ EP will be released digitally in the UK on 24th July.