ALBUM REVIEW: Manzanita – Shana Cleveland
Manzanita is the common name for a small species of evergreen tree native to California which is known for its strong medicinal properties, and this album definitely lives up to its namesake. With more and more genre blends and categories growing by the month, psychedelic-acoustic may be a new one to some, but it is the perfect explanation for what solo artist SHANA CLEVELAND does.
Many will be familiar with the singer from her surf rock band LA LUZ, but she’s no stranger to releasing solo music. Manzanita is Cleveland’s third solo release and claims to be her best yet. While Cleveland continues to play guitar and vocals, Johnny Goss, who has recorded all of her solo material and early LA LUZ recordings, and Abbey Blackwell (ALVVAYS, LA LUZ) play the bass; Olie Eshleman is on pedal steel; and Will Sprott plays the keyboards, dulcimer, glockenspiel, and harpsichord—little of which would have been out of place on her previous two solo records.
The press release honestly describes the album perfectly with this quote: “The combinations of words and song structure are so strong throughout that one hardly notices Cleveland’s nimble fingerpicking on first listen, or how much is packed into the arrangements.” The more you listen, the more you notice. What might come across as a simple guitar and voice track turns into so much more. This melodic, mostly melancholy album is both relaxing yet also unnerving. Cleveland’s vocals tread that thin line of being beautifully sweet yet slightly sinister; paired with intricate guitar plucking, it could cross over into either boundary.
The overall ‘vibe’ of the album is also very reminiscent of solo artist Z-BERG, as their vocal tones and instrumentals are in a similar wheelhouse. Within the album though, there is a variety of tracks with external links that don’t connect in the slightest. For example, Sheriff On The Sea sounds similar to MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE’s Interlude, and Home Of The Winter Sun has some rhythmic links to House Of The Rising Sun by THE ANIMALS. The title is similar too, so it can be assumed that those similarities are on purpose, and honestly, the track isn’t an insult to the classic that it is being compared to.
Mystic Mine is the main star of the album and the title of the track is an apt one. The strange siren-like noise is oddly jarring amongst the soft serene acoustic stylings and stops the listener from being able to relax completely – keeping them just on the edge of tranquillity. Though the album is strongly marketed as not being Americana, it does feel a lot like it. Even though it doesn’t directly meet all of the qualifications, it still falls into that category, it has to.
Though the lyrics can be brutally truthful and hard-hitting when you truly hear them, the genre of the songs do give you the choice between just listening and enjoying, and paying full attention to the lyrics if you want to. Whilst this decision makes the songs incredibly easy-listening, it does mean that the songs, and subsequently the album, lack an overall focal point and every song kind of blends into the next if you listen to it in one go. These tracks could fit into a relaxing playlist or even in a zen room, but they are hardly going to be put on a daily repeat playlist unfortunately, they’re just not stand-out enough to fit into that style of set up.
Overall, Manzanita is an easy-listening album that can be put on if you need a moment to relax, decompress and get out of your head, but it isn’t something that you are likely to commit time to listen to intently.
Rating: 5/10
Manzanita is out now via Hardly Art.
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