Becca Mancari - Left Hand [Milky Clear LP]

Since moving to Nashville to start their music career in 2012, Becca Mancari has been lauded fortheir dextrous songwriting and prodigious guitar playing. Their sophomore album The GreatestPart, released in 2020, was an indie rock opus that garnered acclaim from The New York Times,NPR, and more. After it's release, however, Mancari was despairing. An illness in their family,coupled with a realization that their alcohol dependency had become untenable, led Mancari tobegin the hard work of taking ownership of their existence by mending broken relationships andinvesting in their mental health. "I didn't realize it then, but looking back, I was a passenger inmy own life," Mancari says. The transformative period of self-reckoning was the catalyst thatultimately steered Mancari to write and produce their triumphant new album, Left Hand.While Left Hand came out of a dark period in Mancari's life, the album is anything but. Wide-open and welcoming, the music beckons all listeners, encouraging community among strangers.On the album, Mancari asserts a radical self-acceptance. The propulsive track "It's Too Late"binds this new album to the hypnotic rhythms of The Greatest Part, and while the lyricschronicle personal tragedy ("I almost drove off the road that night/ Did you know I almost did itso many times?") the bass-driven groove is undeniable, luring us deeper into the album. The boldadmission is but one example of the intimacy experienced throughout the record, suggesting thatmusic, too, has been a part of their growth and healing expedition.