New songs -- they just sound like classics

There’s been a recent wealth of “lost” classic folk-pop albums from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, obscurities such as Linda Perhacs’ “Parallelograms,” reissued to rhapsodic embraces by fans discovering their combinations of stunning voices, complex emotions and musical daring.

Mia Doi Todd’s “Manzanita” deserves the same reception. But when Todd performed at the Echo on Monday, it was to celebrate this week’s release of a new album, not a buried treasure.

Not yet 30, the Los Angeles singer-songwriter seems to have tapped into something both timeless and fresh with her fifth album. Her past work, including 2003’s Columbia Records release “The Golden State,” were solid showcases for her mix of poetic images and naked frankness, startlingly powerful yet understated voice, and almost minimalist musical approach. But her return to the indie world (“Manzanita” is on the small Plug Research label) is a breakthrough marked by magnetic folk-rock settings that are effective and appealing media for her.

At the first show of her monthlong residency of free Monday night shows at the Echo Park club, the vibe translated remarkably well live, especially considering that it was her first concert with bassist Greg Malone and drummer Andres Renteria. The two showed great intuition in fitting inside Todd’s delicate guitar patterns and undulating vocal lines, adding to the subtle depths and immediate appeal of such new songs as “What If We Do?” and the transfixing “The Last Night of Winter.” Renteria in particular drove the dynamics with a jazz-informed touch reminiscent of the Doors’ John Densmore.

The evening gave plenty of reasons why “Manzanita” ought to have a future simply as a classic, not a lost one.

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Mia Doi Todd

Where: The Echo, 1822 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park

When: 10 p.m. every Monday in February

Price: Free

Contact: (213) 413-8200