Club Meds

After four solo efforts as Dan Mangan, *Club Meds* is the first release by JUNO Award–winning singer/songwriter under the name Dan Mangan + Blacksmith. And fittingly so, considering the big leap forward it represents for Mangan. Edgy and sonically dense, *Club Meds* is full of surprises and nuanced arrangements, and it\'s every bit a band effort. Loops, squalling effects, and subtle interplay among instruments give the album an overall claustrophobic sound, with occasional bursts into open space as on “A Doll’s House/Pavlovia” and “XVI.” At times, traditional song structures are abandoned entirely, creating a disorienting effect that remains beautiful despite the album’s jagged edges.

Musically, this is one dark album.

For someone whose award-winning solo efforts were already full of charming heft, Dan Mangan’s first ostensible outing with the full band Blacksmith (they played alongside him on 2011’s Oh Fortune) is a tidal, engrossing record.

With each new album, Dan Mangan pushes himself further from his roots as a sensitive, heart-on-sleeve acoustic singer-songwriter, and Club M...

The Canadian’s first album with a full band suggests he’s finally found his true voice, writes <strong>Paul Mardles</strong>

Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Mangan’s fourth album finds him in a more ambitious and adventurous mode, writes <strong>Tim Jonze</strong>