Doctor’s Orders: Becca Mancari prescribe their nine favourite albums
Music is a form of medicine from inception to its eternal unfurling. Becca Mancari is somewhere near the start of that lineage when its comes to their luscious latest album, Left Hand, released a few months back. “Left Hand was a record that had to happen for me to even survive,” Mancari tells me. “I had been dealing with so much untreated trauma, and I needed to finally do the work and heal.”
“This record really did change my life, and It was scary to be so open about my struggles with mental health and pain,” they continue, “but I really do feel free now that I have allowed others in to really see me. This record is meant not just for my struggle, but for all those that feel that they must fight for their lives.” In this sense, it not only typifies the benevolence of Mancari, boldly getting to the heart of the vulnerability of art and its potential to beautifully make others feel seen but also the embalming of creativity itself.
Following the release of The Greatest Part in 2020, musical success beckoned for Mancari, but illnesses in the family, disheartening studio sessions and a slew of other stresses caused a malaise to descend that precluded creativity and left a feeling of hopelessness. “I didn’t realise it then,” they explain, “but looking back, I was a passenger in my own life.”
So, a return basics got underway. Mancari reckoned with why so many people get into music in the first place: a sense of belonging and togetherness among friends. With that in mind, they decided to get by in the studio with a little help from their friends. With the likes of Brittany Howard and Julian Baker for company, Mancari whisked up an outpouring that reconfigured a view that life was sliding by, and instead looked at it as a ride to reconcile. The result is a beautiful piece of musical therapy.
With that in mind, we asked Mancari to take part in a feature. In partnership with CALM, we’ve asked a selection of our favourite artists and public figures to share nine records that they would prescribe for anyone and the stories behind their importance. Doctor’s Orders sees some of our favourite musicians, actors, authors, comedians and more offer up the most important records, which they deem essential for living well. CALM, whose full working title is ‘Campaign Against Living Miserably’, offer a free, confidential and anonymous helpline for those most in need of mental health support.
Below we get a taste of the albums that have comforted Mancari in turn.
Becca Mancari”s nine favourite albums:
Brother, Sister – mewithoutYou
“A record that sticks with me from young years is the record Brother, Sister by mewithoutyou,” Mancari begins. “Because I grew up so religious, this was one of the first records that I heard where someone spiritual actually questions religion and calls out the system. It really made a huge impact on me, and actually made me want to be more intentional as a songwriter at a very young age.”
The indie album from 2006 was the band’s third studio effort, and it is akin to the Aesops Fables of folk rock. Entrenched in animal symbolism, the album’s deeply poetic intent shines through in the music too, creating a record that’s like a walk through a forest. It might have only hit 116 in the charts upon release, but much like Mancari, it has become a huge part of many people’s lives thereafter. (NB it is not on Spotify, so has been replaced below by their comparable 2012 LP, Ten Stories).
Let It Be Me (Live) – Nina Simone
Nick Cave once said, “The thing about the song: it wasn’t that it was sad that made me cry, it was that it was perfect. There is something about human achievement when it reaches so high in such a causal and can do something that is so utterly perfect.” He might have been talking about Karen Dalton, but the same token applies to much of Nina Simone‘s stunning work, and Mancari is certainly in agreement.
“Nina Simone, what can I even say that hasn’t been said about this master in art. The realness I feel in her records is unmatched, and I feel like this live album had really gone me through some dark days,” Mancari explains, “I sometimes just wish I could have been there with her during her darks days too, but I can honour her memory, and remember her magic.”
Carrie & Lowell – Sufjan Stevens
“Sufjan Stevens records, in general, make me feel a peacefulness that I can’t really put into words, it just feels safe. I think for me, the topic of death off of his record Carrie and Lowell really helped me address my own feelings about it. I really feel that Sufjan is an artist who is not afraid to look uncool by approaching difficult subjects like death, and his music means a lot to me,” Mancari explains.
Although his 2015 album might be pitted with moments of deep profundity and sadness, Stevens’ hushed tones do serve as an adult comfort blanket. In many ways, Mancari will be pleased to hear, that this makes the record very similar to their own. Stevens has never been afraid to pair the darkness of life with light beauty and this diary falling the fallout of his mother’s death typifies that.
Songs – Adrianne Lenker
“This is a newer record,” Mancari begins, “but I had a pretty special moment with this record. I was on a writing trip in the middle of the woods, and I had no wifi, so I only had music that was downloaded with me, and this was one of two records that I had with me. On top of that, there was a huge storm that hit the cabin, and this record was on repeat for me as the storm raged around me.”
Becca continues: “It has a calming effect on me, and I think it will always hold a special place for me.” This soothing capacity has made Lenker one of the most celebrated songwriters of the century. Whether it is with Big Thief, Buck Meek, or these humble solo offerings, the hushed yet potent tones of Lenker are a cushion to the grind of life.
Blonde – Frank Ocean
“I mean, this record is just so deeply special to me, it feels like he is holding his heart outside of his chest for us all to see, and I am here for every single moment,” Mancari begins. “I think that the production is a masterpiece, and it’s a top ten record for me for all the reasons possible. I think his emotional intelligence is next level and allows me to feel less alone in my own pain.”
As Frank Ocean said himself, encapsulating Blonde: “Boys do cry, but I don’t think I shed a tear for a good chunk of my teenage years. It’s surprisingly my favourite part of life so far. Surprising, to me, because the current phase is what I was asking the cosmos for when I was a kid.”
Man on the Moon: The End of Day – Kid Cudi
“In 2010, this record changed my life, and it changed music in general forever,” Mancari boldly states. “I just can’t tell you how many times I cried to this record. I feel like he spoke to my soul by being so honest about his own struggles with depression. I just think it’s a masterful record,” they concluded.
Rarely has anything as commercially successful as Man on the Moon: The End of Day been so profoundly deep. As Kid Cudi himself said about the album: “Each song is a message. All the hooks are stadium-worthy, crowd sing-along, powerful joints that I can’t wait for people to hear in stadium magnitude. My album definitely needs to be heard loudly, but it’s also a great album if you’re smoking and you need to go to sleep.”
Are We There – Sharon Van Etten
“Sharon Van Etten,” Mancari begins, “is a similar artist to Sufjan for me in that I will listen to anything they put out because I just believe them so much. But Are We There will always hold a special place in my heart and helped me through many seasons of my life.”
In a manner akin to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, Sharon Van Etten dropped the question mark from her 2014 masterpiece and stated, “[it’s] open-ended, I ask myself that question all the time, for my work, for my love, even for my friends. It’s just really good to check in with yourself and it’s a play on words, about touring and about travelling, being in transition.”
Damn – Kendrick Lamar
“This record is so singular. It’s a mountain to climb and a river to cross inside yourself, and it helped me heal in ways that I don’t even know if I deserved, but I am thankful for it,” Mancari explains. It’s a record that lets Mancari know that you can take agency over your own life even in the midst of a slide, as they added: “We can have it like we used to, over and over and over and over again.”
The 2017 album was a mammoth success for Kendrick Lamar. It gained critical acclaim while storming up the charts. While it may have been more simple than To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar’s unique way of pairing lurching beats with a sense of emotional sincerity once again presides powerfully.
Wede Harer Guzo – Hailu Mergia
When it comes to overcoming hardship, Hailu Mergia spearheaded a musical revolution in the face of great oppressive forces in Ethiopia, in some ways changing the culture of the country forever. Now, his influence is beginning to extend beyond borders and Mancari is just one of many converts to his magical ways and near-orchestral jazzy arrangements.
“Hailu Mergia is such a special artist, and this music is my favourite to put on and just conjure up another world of feeling. It really feeds me,” Mancari says.
