Minneapolis-based troubadour draws upon the Creative Spirit in turbulent times.
Dark Wings is the eighteenth studio album from the prolific Mason Jennings. With a significant following in the USA and worldwide, new releases from the Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter are eagerly awaited, and this collection of eleven songs will not disappoint his many fans.
On this recording, Jennings returns to a band format after his primarily solo acoustic album, Magnifier, in 2025. Dark Wings was produced by Scott McPherson, a drummer who Jennings attests has played with “everyone”, the list including Elliott Smith, Beck and She & Him. Basing themselves in a studio workshop at McPherson Goods, a company owned by the drummer where upscale handbags and clothes are made, the band settled into what was described as a Willy Wonka-type scene. Guitarist and keys player Aaron Featherstone was enlisted to engineer, adding vocals as well as his primary instruments. These three started out with a single song, Try Me, and the project ran from November 2024 through to February 2026, Jennings calling into the studio between touring commitments and adding a song each month or so.
Jennings, Featherstone and McPherson feature on virtually all tracks except the last, Spirit Mountain, which is a solo piece by the artist. Other musician friends of McPherson were enlisted for additional help on bass or keys, with one track, Wild Oceans, requiring a string section and support vocals.
The title track comes just after the midway point and is a terrific song with a distinct noir feel, even down to a whistling interlude, like an Ennio Morricone soundtrack to a spaghetti western. That should remind us of recent history in Jennings’ home town of Minneapolis, where ICE agents have targeted innocent civilians. For obvious reasons it’s hard to write overtly political lyrics in Trump’s America, but Jennings says this;
“These last couple years have been destabilizing and challenging for most of us. In times of stress and grief and anger I continue to turn to and have great faith in the Creative Spirit and the power of hope and love in the human heart. That’s what this album is a result of and a testament to.”
The song If touches on this;
“If you had one dream, just one dream
And the dream became a nightmare
Would you still dream it?”
It’s a gentle song but the next track, Eagle, sees the band ramping up the pace as the 51-year-old Jennings takes a long look at his life. He’s nothing if not varied in his musical styles and Bone Walks Alone is like a visit from the Grim Reaper, starting with a monkish chant before tremolo-heavy guitars mixed with ominously barking dogs lead us into “The valley of death”.
With all eleven songs written by Mason Jennings, this record sees a more collaborative approach than his last and gives the sense of a band enjoying each other’s company as they lay down tracks in their makeshift studio. Without an overarching vision for what he wished to create, Jennings simply wrote songs as the project progressed, and as he puts it, “My favorite tracks from these sessions ultimately became this album.” With this rationale as good as any, Dark Wings is a well-produced collection of songs that invites the listener to sit back and enjoy the ride.
