Dan Mangan

NATURAL LIGHT was recorded unexpectedly over 6 magical days by four best buds in a cabin by a lake. Here, there is a return to folk music’s classic underpinnings of political resistance. A return to writing “song songs” that might be played around a campfire. Mangan has experimented rigorously with his sound over the years, but resting in his roots may be where he operates most effortlessly. There is something fitting in Mangan hitting this high watermark at this stage of his life and career. You can trace the chapters of his story in the fabric of Natural Light. You’ll find remnants of the tenacious young artist who booked tours of Europe via Myspace in the mid 2000s. The emergent songwriter who hibernated into fatherhood just as arena-folk exploded in the early 2010s. The genre-bender who has subtly challenged his audience with each album, tracing a unique trajectory of confronting and eclipsing his own art. Over two decades, Mangan has managed an enviably strong creative ethic, and his integrity as both a singer and songwriter has only strengthened with age. The big picture cohesiveness of Natural Light harkens to a pre-streaming, album-focused sensibility. Songs bleed together through focused transitions and overlapping interludes. Mangan’s lyrics act as gondolier for the journey, reassuring the listener that it’s cool to care. Dan sings for his kids, for his wife, and for a society in existential crisis.