Manett – Stigma Style
Manett – Stigma Style – EP Review
I’d like to thank Manett personally for entertaining me day after day throughout this week whilst I eat my cereal. And no, I’m not suggesting that makes her music for the morning only; I’m a cereal-freak, I eat that stuff at any time of day. Got a bowlful of chocolate Trix goin on right now in between sentences here…that’s just how I get down these days…
From Brooklyn, New York, Manett has a beautiful, floating, hazy-dreamlike style in the music she creates. Something close to like…Mazzy Star with a bit more pep & energy, though a subtle difference that may be…
You can consider me a fan of this solo-artist; she’s got a clearly defined sound, style and delivery. Stigma Style begins with a beautiful introduction to her music with “A New View.” There are a massive amount of reasons to fall in love with this song right away, or at the very least for me to. I love the melancholy tremolo’d-out guitar chords and the percussion and beat fit the mood perfectly. There’s something ‘throwback’ about Manett’s sound that’s pulled off entirely authentically; and with enough of a modern twist that her music sounds every bit as relevant and impactful as something like you’d find in Bat For Lashes incredible catalogue. Her vocals completely stand out with beautiful texture and tone…she almost contrasts against this rainy-day-rhythm with her confident performance, bringing a little sunshine into the mix through her melody & sharp song-writing instincts. At times she sounds similar to Kim (Or Kelley?) Deal of The Breeders when they slowed themselves down for their more melodic & emotional tunes and against some truly smart production and percussive-elements, she’s already got herself a winner with me in this opening tune.
Following up this excellent opening, she drifts nearly solo & a-cappella into “The Birds (For Paulo);” a true combination of art & music that shows a real innovative side of Manett with a combination of electro-infusion and synth solos alongside her sweet voice & vocals. With nature sounds and a solo-synth-line, couple of bells, she starts singing in a curious & confident sound; something like you might find Bjork herself experimenting with…especially as the beat comes in about 1.5 minutes in to take over for her vocals. Excellent transition at the two minute mark and you’ve got yourself a sweet little journey inside this one cut for sure. It heads straight out of our atmosphere and up towards the sky & space towards the end…overall it’s the surprising tune on the EP in that Manett doesn’t simply rely on her beautiful voice to get through this song, she takes it on instrumental and demonstrates a completely capable skill-set & imagination that obviously knows no limitations.
What was truly welcome though, was the opening tones and her vocal-return on the final track, “Treehouse.” It’s not like she completely sat out during “The Birds (For Paulo)” but the space between her last set of vocals and the beginning of “Treehouse” actually felt significant, and the ‘comeback,’ if you will, is freakin fantastic. I’ve enjoyed everything on this EP up to this point and had no reason to doubt this final track would deliver, but man, she NAILS this last one. A little more pop in sound, it’s almost similar to something you’d find in the mid-90’s when bands like Echobelly, The Martini’s and Belly all found a place in our ears and hearts. Complete with a production that matches that time & feel, Manett again pulls off a stunning performance that’s convincingly genuine all the way through. You can absolutely FEEL how much this lady loves to play, create and come up with new songs and sounds; and as subtle as it might be – Stigma Style has a pulse & energy to it that beats strong with vibrant life. Manett has pulled off a gorgeous set of tunes here on this latest EP; it’s a dreamy sound I’m so glad I’m completely awake for and listening to.
Find out more about her and support Manett at Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/whoismanett
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