Robots need love too

It’s an old adage: you have your whole life to write your first album and six months to write your second. Except in the case of Dan Mangan, that’s not strictly true. His first album, Postcards and Daydreaming, came out in 2005, meaning that he’s taken four years to produce the follow-up, Nice, Nice, Very Nice, which will be released in August. In preparation for the release of the full-length, Dan released Roboteering on March 10th, a teaser EP featuring three tracks from the upcoming album, plus two outtakes.

The core of Dan’s sound remains the same as it ever was, with bittersweet acoustic folk songs that showcase his gruff baritone voice. But Roboteering takes that familiar sound and improves upon it in every conceivable way: the songwriting is better, the production is richer, and the arrangements are more diverse. Best of all is the sort-of title track, “Robots.” It’s the pop single Postcards and Daydreaming never had, with a lush instrumental arrangement (including slide guitar, banjo, and piano) to support the song’s upbeat acoustic guitar-and-drums groove. The lyrics glorify emotional detachment, but Dan offers a twist in song’s repeated coda: “Robots need love too / They want to be loved by you.” It’s an absolutely massive hook, and ends in a big group sing-along replete with handclaps and crescendoing trumpets.

Download: “Robots”

The other songs on the collection are more subtle than “Robots,” but no less memorable. “The Indie Queens Are Waiting” is a percussion-less ballad with harmonies sung by Veda Hille, whose poignant vocal performance humanizes the song’s title characters (the cooler-than-thou “indie queens”). “Sold” is the simplest in terms of production, but its rootsy two-step outstrips anything off Postcards and Daydreaming in terms of sheer energy. The EP-only songs are a nice addition to the collection, but their stark minimalism makes it easy to see why Dan chose to leave them off the full-length. The closing track, “Tragic Tun of Events/Move Pen Move,” is especially sombre, a nine-minute music/poetry collaboration with Shane Koyczan.

It may have taken Dan four years to write his second album, but Roboteering shows that the time was well spent. There’s just one problem—thanks to this teaser, the wait for Nice, Nice, Very Nice is going to seem that much longer. The EP is out now via File Under: Music, with the LP following in August.