Customer Reviews

Apart

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The much anticipated second album from Mira.One wouldn't expect them to top their debut,but well...they do.To an extent it's hard to fully grasp really. More varied than their debut,yes...in this case NOT a bad thing at all,although I loved their first album over anything when it got released.Starting off with the almost poppy "Space",a beautiful unusually upbeat song for Mira,is the perfect starter and still nothing compared to what's to come.Which is "Going Nowhere","In Theory","Green","Open In Silence" (which is THE Mira song),"Miss" and "Hollow"...all which is nothing but absolutely brilliant and (believe it or not) equally great,and in some cases actually better than whatever you could find on their debut.Cayman included.

The voice...the guitars...the atmosphere...it's breathtaking. Enjoy "Apart"...the best of 2001 for sure.

Mira have got a pretty good thing going, really; the singer's voice is exquisitely lovely, the musicianship is good, and the songwriting is complex and never gets repetitive. The problem is that they only know how to write one type of song (at least as far as this album's evidence). All the songs here are about 6 minutes long, in the keys of E minor or A minor (at least mainly, as far as I can tell), and are well put-together but seem a bit too 'riffy' somehow. When everything goes right, the tendrils of a placid guitar arpeggio lift you up gently while the singer's (can't recall her name at the moment) voice lilts and spirals upwards in sweet melodious ease, but then they seem to throw in kind of arbitrary changes in the songs just in an attempt to keep things moving. Mira has some pretty good material (their cover of MBV's "When You Sleep" is AMAZING), but on this one they just seem a bit too content to stick with a formula. With one song after another with the exact same mood as the last ("oh I'm so alone, someone come talk to me"), it gets somewhat tiresome and not a little depressing, like an intangible weight. Besides "Space" and "In Theory", which I heard previously on a free Projekt sampler and are the best renditions of the style they unfortunately overdo, only "Green" and "Hollow" really seem to stand out to me, and at least "Plastique" sounds a *little* different with its nice classical guitar work.

Listening to Mira is like walking around in the type of dream you enjoy having. Everything around you is peaceful, lovely, but abstract enough to leave you curious and wanting more. I was a big fan of Mira's first album and I am glad to see they did not fall into "flavor of the week" status like so many critics thought they would. Like any great artists, I wouldn't say Apart tops their previous album, but rather builds around it, providing us with something new and different while still maintaining all the qualities that made us fall in love with Mira in the first place.

Now if only they found the means to tour the Pacific half of the U.S....

This sophmore release shows some directional growth for Mira's music. Apart is much more aggressive than Mira's debut, which helps accentuate the tension in some of their themes. If I had to compare Mira to another artist, I would have you imagine Harriet Wheeler of "The Sundays" singing with Oasis, or maybe Catherine Wheel.

Fans of modern British rock, may get more out of this album than the typical fan of Projekt recording artists, but don't let the rock comparison deter you from buying this album for it's ambient qualities, Regina may very well be descended from sirens.

Hyperbole does not do justice to this CD. I stumbled on to Mira via the Projekt compliation Seireenia (an outstanding CD itself). Actually I heard of them through several of the lists found now on this site, but I was kind of turned off by the "goth" label so until I heard "Divine" I had no idea. I have not heard the first CD but Apart has been on one or the other CD players constantly surrounding me for the last two weeks. I buy easily 100 CD's a year cause I burn out easily on most CD's. Apart seems to get better and better and even now I anticipate being able to play it. Forget the comparisons, forget the labels, just enjoy the wonderful music it is. I would love to see them perform, so come on downstate Mira.

I first found out about Mira a few months ago when I went to mp3.com and downloaded "Plastique" which is the seventh track on this album. I was floored--the first time I heard it, I couldn't believe how amazing that song was. And then, a week or so ago, I had the opportunity to listen to other tracks on this album. I had to buy it and I was not disappointed. The confident vocal style, the dreamy yet noisy guitar- I love this album.

If you also like this album, you should look into Slowdive's "Souvlaki", just about anything by the Cocteau Twins, almost any Lush album. Actually, in general, you should look into more shoegazing music(My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Slowdive, etc. covering the early 90s British side; and lots of sites, but especially clairecords.com covering the current American resurgence).

Anyway, both this album and shoegazing music in general are highly recommended for a dreamy yet noisy, amazing experience.

I love this CD, its great winter music, which is interesting because these guys are from Florida of all places. It's tremendously atmospheric, great monaural vocals, good guitar work on several tracks. "Space", "Plastique" and "Tick Tock" are all great tracks, those are my personal favorites.

For anyone who owns this and lives in a winter region, next snowstorm you're home for, open all the blinds and put this puppy on the stereo and blast it, it really fits perfectly...

These tracks kinda fall peacefully on you like snowflakes, beautiful but cold, and before you know it you are buried by their powerful effect. Very good disc.

There's something to be said for a band that has the talent to literally transform an emotion into a song. The only problem in this case - the emotion lasts the entire record.

Mira make good music. To call it outstanding would be a little bit of a stretch, though technically, they're all good musicians with an incredible knack for creating an atmosphere as opposed to simply a song, and herein lies the heart of Apart. These songs have a very surreal, yet very grounded quality to them. The vocals are startlingly fragile and melancholy against the music, which although isn't riff-laden, still has a very noticeable direction and drive to it. The guitar work is often sparse at best, which allows the vocals and the melody to infuse a powerful dose of heartache to each song. Indeed, this entire album sounds like one long, hazy lament. It is excellent for those days when you're the only soul on the planet, as well as for the days when you just want to listen to something hauntingly infectious.

I've listened to this album at least twice a day since I got it 2 weeks ago and can't wait to hear it again. If you like Chimera's "Earth Loop" CD you'll -love- this CD.

Yes, the sum of it parts does merit the highest award given to an album/CD -Road Music. Mira and Mira Apart are Road Music. Thousands of miles have past and many more to come and yet Mira endures as my Road Music. Possibly-maybe purchasing two of each before they begin to sell for $200.00.