Manzanita

Once in a while there’s nothing better than listening to something that isn’t techno and has, perish the thought, vocals. Folksy type Mia Doi Todd’s first album was more electronic than this new release, but that doesn’t make Manzanita any less worthy of praise. Todd’s haunting outpourings at times sound like Lisa Gerrard or in her more ethereal moments, Liz Cocteau, and the mix of folk, country & western, orchestral sweeps and the inherent sense of melancholia make Manzanita as emotive as any of Derrick May’s greatest moments.