Spun: Dan Mangan

By Andy Williams

At first glance, Dan Mangan’s sophomore album looks like it could be another superficial experiment in indie-folk-pop. Don’t be fooled, as the Vancouver native quickly shatters this illusion.

The album opens on the strength of “Road Regrets” and slowly builds momentum throughout. “Robots” has the potential to be a boisterous crowd pleaser, however it’s the rest of the album that draws the listener in. Mangan relies on the strength of clever observation and biting introspection, the results being the wonderfully catchy “Tina’s Glorious Comeback” and previously mentioned “Queens Are Waiting.”

It is hard to find a bad song on this cd. It is not perfect, but at its weakest Nice is still good. Mangan strays a little on the upbeat “Some People,” but overall his remarkable honesty and use of a wide variety of instruments has created a catchy album that draws the listener and has the depth to bring them back.

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