“Really incredible…I was just so deeply moved by the whole thing” – NPR Music
“Artist of the Month…Fantastic…Akin to Cate Le Bon or Aldous Harding” – Consequence of Sound
“Shimmering…pointillist…skittering…and serrated-edge.”– Rolling Stone
“Even as she delves into devastating and dark subject matter throughout, Mancari often twists them into songs filled with hopefulness.”– Them.
“Along with Hayley Williams’ recent debut solo album Petals For Armor [and Brittany Howard’s Jaime], it completes a trifecta of emotionally vulnerable albums by three of Nashville’s most audacious pop stars.” – GRAMMY.com
“Raw and intrepid”– Paste
“Mancari delivers a collection of deeply personal songs that carry a lyrical weight, but float above tight, groovy production.”– Uproxx
Today, Becca Mancari announces her forthcoming digital EP, Juniata, out March 19 via Captured Tracks. Along with the announcement, Mancari shares ‘Annie’, a nostalgic tune reminiscent of old hollywood film soundtracks, featuring a lush strings quintet. Listen to ‘Annie’here. Confronting one’s past doesn’t always end in a fiery explosion – sometimes, acceptance has the quiet strength of water. Mancari knows this; it’s why she chose to name her new EP Juniata, after the rural Pennsylvania river where she spent much of her childhood. In this new collection, she returns to her past both literally and figuratively, casting new light with a stripped-down selection of some of her sophomore album’s most haunting tracks.
Becca Mancari on ‘Annie’ – “I grew up watching 1950’s and 60’s movies that my grandma would record for us because we didn’t have TV growing up. The thing that I loved the most about these old films was the music… it was a time periodwhere it felt almost appropriate to be a little dramatic in this lush orchestral fashion. So when I wrote “Annie” I wanted to harken back to that time of feeling like you were swept up into a dance. Also, I wrote this song on the front porch where I started my other band Bermuda Triangle. We used to play it during our live set, where Brittany would rip this incredible solo on classical guitar. “Annie” has definitely lived a few lives already, but it feels right that it would now be on this EP. It’s a little piece of coming back home.”
Released in June of last year, the critically-acclaimed The Greatest Part is a deceptively upbeat collection of sharp indie pop that explores Mancari’s experience growing up gay in a fundamentalist Christian home. Described by the New York Times as “Stereolab gone Nashville,” it boasts infectious electric guitar hooks and explosive percussion, cloaking the emotional weight of its subject matter in vibrant technicolor. The celebratory sound was by design – the album was meant as a paean to resilience and joy in the face of pain. Still, Mancari felt there was more to be expressed in these songs – she’d been having a recurring dream about the river, too, which felt like a symbol of unfinished business.
Though there is no shortage of formidable lyricism on Juniata’s tracks, listening to the EP recalls another line from The Greatest Part:“ Do you know your body anymore?” she asked on ‘I’m Sorry.’ “Does it haunt you every night?” Exposing oneself isn’t easy, especially with the whole world watching. But as Mancari confidently peels back the layers of her songwriting to reveal their gut-wrenching core, one gets the sense that she isn’t feeling so haunted anymore.
