Dan Mangan

Vancouver, BC's favourite son made an astonishing splash with his 2009 sophomore album. Nice, Nice, Very Nice brought Dan Mangan critical praise, awards and enthusiastic audiences worldwide. Two years on, it appears the album's wild success has given Mangan the freedom to abandon his acoustic troubadour persona and realize a grander musical vision. Produced by Colin Stewart (Black Mountain), Oh Fortune is packed with intense arrangements. Where Mangan experimented with children's noisemakers on the last album, this time he brings in whole orchestras of sound. And it starts big. On magnificent opener "About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All," a cacophonous rumble becomes a graceful brass and woodwind waltz that bursts into sprawling orchestral pop and then recedes into acoustic folk highlighting Mangan's warm vocals and stirring lyrics. While there's no sign of a sing-along earworm like "Robots," Oh Fortune offers deeper delights and songs you can truly sink your teeth into.