Everything You Need [Import]

What you have here is a woman writing her own music, singing her own songs. This record is not full of teeny-bop tunes about texting your BFF, written by a 45 year old man.

It's clear that the musicians on the record understand phrasing and pacing. Manda's voice is smoldering at times, full of emotion and depth. It's unlike any I have heard in a long time. She controls the songs well. The subtle harmonies on many of the tracks play so well together.

Aside from her great vocals, the music is uplifting. I felt that it was all put in place to support her brand of singing and the music does it's job well. A lot of acoustic guitar, clear tones, and light rhythm. Splash in some smooth solos and harmonica and you've got the idea.

This is an artist singing from her heart, performing for you. I highly recommend it.

There are so many things to like about Everything You Need: The sophisticated songcraft, the uniquely haunting vocals, and the sense of rootedness to a larger American musical history (Manda demonstrates a healthy respect for blues, country, folk, and rock in equal measure) are some. But most impressive of all is the way in which Manda presents her diversity of musical styles, as she is able use her influences rather than letting them use her.

Not content to be merely derivative, Manda maintains her own voice and makes each song hers. "Thank You," for example, benefits from her unconventional singing style. Her rich, deep, mature vocals (no pop fluff here!) suggest an artist at home with the blues, not one "putting on" the blues. When Manda breaks out the harmonica and walks the path paved by classic rock artists like Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young, on songs like "It Can't Be Wrong" and "Don't You Know," she sounds natural. She has both the songwriting chops and the passion to convincingly pull them off. And then, just when it appears that Manda can be figured out, she throws "Lay Me Down," a modern rock song, into the mix.

Manda is a breath of fresh air in a musical landscape stale with little girls (and boys) making easily consumable (but immediately forgettable) pop trash. If you like good music, real music, give Everything You Need a listen.

I bought this album recently on the recommendation of a close friend and I was pleasantly surprised. Most new artists of the last 15 years can be described as sounding just like someone else. Instead of reproducing her favorite artist's music Manda has used her influences as the ingredients for her own well crafted and arranged music. I appreciate her style as it's feminine but also has that soul and grit of true American music. This is shown best on the last track Thank You, which feels raw and unrehearsed and it makes me think of one of my favorite blues artists, Muddy Waters. If you're looking for some well crafted classic American music then I highly recommend this album.