Mia Doi Todd

There’s no denying that Doi Todd has a great voice. A rich, emotive tone that is of a deeper register than you would think and which can convey lovely emotion with the slightest of pitch changes. Yet, for all its charm and beauty, her voice sounds the same from track to track, which isn’t helped by the gentle acoustics that she dabbles in. Her last album, Manzanita, amped up the rock and brought a nice edge to her constant voice, while her recent remix album, La Ninja, was incredible, as she allowed others to digitally play around with her notable gift. Gea is a "return to form,” on some songs, to Doi Todd’s coffee shop beginnings and, when it works, like on the stunning "Kokoro” or ambling opener "River of Life/The Yes Song,” it’s beautiful folk music. But it does get monotonous as an album and, for all her incredible talent, Doi Todd really does need more inventive instrumentation to fully bring out the emotions she’s trying to convey.