Review: Dan Mangan, Oh Fortune
On his latest full-length album Oh Fortune, Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Mangan shows that he’s no indie one trick pony, as he grows out of his days of folk ballads and evolves into a fuller, more pop-y sound. That is not to say he ignores his past — rather, he builds on it for an effect that is both thought provoking and fun to listen to.
Mangan opens the album with the tongue-twisting “About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All”, a waltz-y, uplifting melody that is nowhere near as verbose as its title. The first track alone lets the listener know that Mangan has changed his sound entirely from his previous albums. His first work, Postcards and Daydreaming, consisted of Mangan’s voice, his guitar, and a sparse percussion section. The addition of string and brass sections provides a much fuller sound, and an excellent compliment to Mangan’s voice.
However, Mangan does not confine himself to the soaring-melody niche. Over the course of the album he explores several different sounds, from folk to raw rock. In “Post-War Blues”, one of the album’s best, Mangan sings about starting “a war for the kids” over a fast-paced, high-pitched guitar line that brings to mind the likes of Mumford & Sons. It poses a stark contrast to the soaring Andrew-Bird-like string section of the first song, but not so much so that the album’s structure seems haphazard. The multiple climaxes of the song exhibit Mangan’s powerful and emotive voice.
While this is only Mangan’s third album, his songs reflect a maturity usually reserved for the end of an artist’s career. He confronts his own mortality several times (“If I Am Dead” and “Regarding Death and Dying”). The final song, “Jeopardy”, presents a collection of connected thoughts that show the depths of Mangan’s lyricism. He sings his introspection: “Why do I lean on good intentions? What are intentions?” The metaphors and shrouded meanings of the prior songs are made explicit, in this concluding sentence. The album ends with a melody that isn’t melancholy, but hopeful, with a bright brass section and toe-tapping percussion. It is as if Mangan has acknowledged that there is a time for self-reflection, it’s just not right now.
-Wil Curiel, host of Drop the Needle on WGTB, which airs every Tuesday night from 7-8 PM EST on WGTB
