REVIEWS
Manaia is the solo project of Jen Strickland, who wastes no time in establishing herself with this CDR as one of the more evocative solo artists stepping across the modern garage-psych landscape. "Faith" is filled with the kinds of peculiarities that keep me coming back to a disc. The vocal delivery, the recording quality, and the guitar tones, all have a genuine "worked over" quality that gives this album an immediate depth. Strickland's voice cries out and whispers cryptic mantras that speak of spiritual yearning and discovery but all without sounding cliche or cheesy.
The highlight of the disc for me is the sixth track, "Unbelievable 2". Crunchy distortion ripples and blends with a minimal beat in the background as Strickland's voice repeats "... only an image to me...". The vocals and the music mesh and become solid for a moment. "What does this mean? Why are you in my dreams?"
The sound and intent behind "Faith" puts it somewhere close to other spiritual-psych navigators like Wooden Wand or Hush Arbors, but while Strickland's sound reflects the greats that have come before her, the voice of her music is entirely her own, and that originality speaks volumes about who she is as a songwriter and an artist. This seems like an early chapter in Strickland's story, but a promising one that hints at an amazing potential. 9/10 -- Charles Franklin (6 February, 2007)
MANAIA – FAITH
Sometimes it is the small things that give the most pleasure, and so it is with this intimate and personal collection of songs, each one a finely crafted pleasure.
Solely created by Jen Strickland, these songs are brimming with honesty, the guitars offering a weird intensity that perfectly suits her voice, whilst covers of "He’s A Keeper Of The Fire" (Buffy Sainte-Marie) and "If You Needed Me" (Townes Van Zandt) reveal a wider palette and excellent taste.
Right from the opening track "A Reason" there is a sense of identity to the record, a consistency of sound that draws you in, with echoes of Vashti Bunyan and Joni Mitchell evident in the vocals although the guitar playing gives the songs a more distorted outlook on life.
On "Keep Cool But Care" a nagging insistent riff dissects the lyrics with outstanding precision, producing one of the albums highlights, whilst "Wait?" is a far more free-form experience the guitar chopping through a squall of cluttered noise to emerge battered and bruised on the other side.
There is an element of lo-fi Polly Harvey about "Unbelievable 2", the sweet despair of the vocals rubbed raw by the ragged chaos of the instruments, something also apparent on "Heart Of A Doll", although the harrowing lyrics add an intense layer of emotion to the song.
A wave of psychedelic unease is set loose as "Let it Slide Really" slithers into the room, a slow all-engulfing instrumental that is far from easy-listening, the sound of your nightmares knocking at the window, with rumbling guitars, electronic arguments and a host of creaking and groaning.
Finally "Yes I Was Drunk But I Meant It" is another version of Buffy Sainte-Marie that eschews the weird-psych of the previous version in favour of all out guitar riffery, burning bright and quickly, sounding like an early grunge band b-side.
At only 22 minutes this is more an EP than a full album, yet it has a quiet intensity that will impress, sounding like a complete work regardless of its length. Special mention also goes to the gorgeous foldout artwork, something that only adds to the completeness of the package. (Simon Lewis)
MANAIA
Faith
9-song CD
Wow, this woman has one sexy ass voice. The very sound of her is giving me a tingle jingle in my spriggle wiggle. This talented woman Manaia (yeah, I can’t pronounce it either) a.k.a. Jen Strickland, played and recorded everything. I think there are a couple of vocal cameos but it’s tough to tell. Where do these one-man-band people come from? I think this one comes from cerebral cyberspace. There are all kinds of mad stuff going on throughout this effort’s layers of guitars, synth sounds, reverse tape effects, and thick sultry vocals abound. You incense-burning, dope-puffin’ candle freaks are going to love this CD. She’s a maniac, maniac’ — I know, and I’m never gonna let her go! So go out and grab some Nag Champa, put on your patchouli, and light up. However, be prepared, it is really experimental. I’m normally not one to push this kind of music but there are some cool, soulful, cosmic sounds and performances on this CD. Aaahhhhhhh Foxy! (Lance Woodward)
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for the record, previous "bands" were: twocubedsixsquared, the right bullets, anita mars, status — but frankly, i get so freaked out by the whole thing that nothing really did much, beyond opening for some amazing folks, like: neptune, pee wee fist, little a, landed, 7,000 dying rats, oxbow, congo norvell, the willard grant conspiracy, manda clair, ultra-breakfast
recently, i've been fortunate to share stages with: p.g. six, elephant micah, brendan of visitations as garm, spring snow, and the festival
i’ve been invited to participate in a "bang chicks". the first performance is on january 20 at good times in somerville.
the first release is a self-released triple mini-cdr set, features three sets of sounds recorded under very different circumstances, and under the moniker "manaia" (because my sick family was trying to find me & i was trying to evade them. i think a beretta would be more useful).
disc 1 was recorded at EXILE in long island city by rick karr (npr, bbc, box set authentic) and features some production help and mastering by nick zampiello (stu walker, cracktorch). disc 2 features tim morse, margaret garrett (mr. airplane man, milk & honey), tim shea (green magnet school, black helicopter), and nick zampiello. disc 3 was recorded by myself and features covers of buffy sainte-marie's "he's a keeper of the fire" and townes van zandt's "if i needed you." it is ONLY available at time-lag records, the label run by old friend nemo (nemo can also be found releasing his own music under the name "drona parva" and playing as part of mv & ee & the bummer road). entirely handmade & limited to 50.
the new release expands on the third disc of the set. entirely handmade, limited to 100, & available at time-lag records, perhaps transparent, and eclipse records online mailorder. the last release as manaia.
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