Dan Mangan - Natural Light

Before a single note of Dan Mangan’s 7th LP Natural Light was recorded he listened through a series of song demos and sincerely considered the title Schminger Schmongwriter. After years of rolling his eyes at the genre, there is poetry in accepting that the two best words to describe him may in fact be “singer” and “songwriter”.

In context, the nod to Harry Nilsson’s landmark album Nilsson Schmilsson is not out of place. There’s a feeling of timelessness to Natural Light – out May 16, 2025, via Arts & Crafts – in the curiosity, the wit, and the playfulness in Dan’s voice, through his words, and the vibrancy of the music. The analog patina and subtle reminders that this tender, funny and devastating work was made by humans together in a room. Mangan’s newest offering bears the the poise of a modern classic, seeded by Dan’s singular lyricism and forged unexpectedly by four best buds over six days in a cabin in the woods.

Natural Light is an album filled with love songs about a society on the brink of collapse. No longer the hopeful young upstart or a stubborn folk-punk, Dan Mangan emerges as a voice to articulate our troubled times with tenderness and humour. Love songs about a planet on the brink of collapse. Campfire songs for a world on fire.

The gentle but irrepressible tune of “Melody,” the warmth and lyrical acuity of “Cut The Brakes,” the fantastic resilience embedded in “Diminishing Returns” are but a few of the rays of brilliance that comprise Natural Light. There is a sense of returning throughout the album – a return to folk music’s classic underpinnings of political resistance – and a return to writing “song songs” with nothing but a notebook and an acoustic guitar. 

The album opening “It Might Be Raining” written for his sons is a heartfelt reckoning with the world our children will inherit – building from its stark folk essence to boundless heights, it brims with Mangan’s compassion and intuition. In his words: ‘You’ve got a right to be mad / What kind of world have you been handed?’ 

On Natural Light, Dan affirms hims as a politically-conscious family man with the maturity and wherewithal to articulate our troubled times with tenderness, intelligence and humour. Mangan has often described songwriting as a way to articulate his anxieties and unburden his mind. This particular collection of recordings explores the darkness of our time, but embraces the listener like a weighted blanket. Sewn into the fabric, in a secret language, are the words instructions for survival. Dan reminds us that the pain of living frees us. That there are those who leave a light on in case another needs to see. That the feeling will go on. That we should seek the natural light, and when we find it, bask in it like a cat.

MORE ABOUT DAN MANGAN

Dan Mangan is a two time JUNO Award-winning and three time Polaris Music Prize-nominated musician and songwriter. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with his wife and two sons. For decades, Dan has brought signature wit, sonic innovation and lyrical insight to the indie/folk community, garnering him a fiercely dedicated and deeply involved audience. He has played Glastonbury and Jimmy Kimmel Live, sold out Massey Hall and scored acclaimed soundtracks for television and feature film. In 2017, he co-founded Side Door, a community marketplace platform for the arts that seeks to democratize and decentralize the entertainment industry by connecting artists with alternative venue spaces.