Forget Robots; Give your Love to Dan Mangan
After touring for three and a half years for his debut album Postcards and Daydreaming, Dan Mangan released Nice, Nice, Very Nice in August of this year. Unfortunately, I don’t have the new album yet so I’m going to write this review based on the songs on his MySpace page.
Things that attract me to Dan Mangan:
1. he’s from Vancouver;
2. his rugged voice is like a pair of rough, yet familiar hands; and
3. he writes surprisingly witty lyrics and lyrics that deserve a deeper listen.
According to the biography available on his website, his latest album was titled in reference to a Kurt Vonnegut poem, recorded in Toronto in fall 2008 and also features the talent of a variety of Canadian artists including Hannah Georges and members of Said the Whale and Mother Mother. Artistic credibility aside, the music is great too.
All the tracks featured on his MySpace illustrate clearly Mangan’s talent in creating an image with not just his lyrics but also his instrumentation.
The single, Road Regrets, conjures images of winding road trips on sunny days as
We drive until the gas is gone/And then walk until our feet are torn/Crawl until we feed the soil/Film the whole thing…
And follows it up on the chorus with the feeling of rainy days stuck in traffic.
It’s a shame/It’s a crying shame/Them’s the breaks/And ain’t it always the way/That takes you back to from where it is you came…
Dan Mangan’s dreamy folk songs are full of insight, heart, and simple observations. From Robots to The Indie Queens are Waiting they’ll either make you want to dance or gaze dreamily out a window but most importantly they’ll make you want to listen.
