Funny how one generation’s soft-rock is another’s indie rock. Singer/songwriter Mia Doi Todd has been a well-respected figure in the underground for 15 years, with seven LPs to her credit. Cosmic Ocean Ship, her latest, seems to draw equally from the British folk balladry of Sandy Denny and the insular early work of Joni Mitchell, with a pinch of psychedelia and a dash of Brazilian pop melody added for spice. “Summer Lover,” “The Rising Tide” and “My Baby Lives in Paris” sounds like choice cuts from an obscure 1971 singer/songwriter album, while “Canto de lemanjá” comes off like a timeless piece of acid folk that just manifested out of the ether. With arrangements centered around Todd’s nylon string guitar and confident soprano, the tracks both float above the atmosphere and remain anchored to the ground, as if Todd is channeling the experience of sitting in the garden looking through a telescope into song. Cosmic Ocean Ship is a lovely and easily accessible record, but retains enough mystery in its grooves to be more than just ear candy.
