Customer Reviews

Elijah Drop Your Gun

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When I was first told of Mieka Pauley, I came away with the impression that she was "the new Jewel." And, that, folks, is why you should listen for yourself. Nothing against Ms. Jewel, but Mieka Pauley is so much more than a shoe-gazing waif with a thin voice, a guitar, and self-indulgent Poety 101 lyrics. I keep searching for one single artist with whom to compare Ms. Pauley,and I keep falling short. She's definitely acoustic-ish but not like an Unplugged show. She just uses real instruments played by real people. You know, like rock music should. Think Jackson Browne or Ed Harcourt. Vocally, she's stronger than pretty much every other "girl with a guitar." I kept thinking of Poe and Shirley Manson as she sang. Lyrically, she's more focused than many with whom she would be (sadly) lumped. She knows how to tell a story and turn a phrase. The thing that most impressed me, though, was her songwriting and arranging. This was no sloppy, all-over-the-place work. Her songs are tight. No fat; no filler. Think of Elvis Costello.

You'll listen to this more than once the first time you put it on. I'd bet dollars to donuts that the first thing you do when you're done with it is to hit play again. As I write this, Amazon doesn't have any clips to preview. So, go to her web site to check it out for yourself. Then, come back here, and buy it.

I've never been moved to post a review before, but this album is brilliant and people should know about it...I don't generally enjoy the female singer/songwriter genre but I downloaded this album simply because it was free. Imagine my shock to find that this is music with thought, depth, poetry, creativity. I feel lucky to have discovered such a unique and brilliant artist who seems relatively unknown!

Obviously get the whole album (it's free!!?), but be sure to listen to "All The Same Mistakes" and "Devil's Got My Secret" which both display immense imagination musically and lyrically. I didn't love "Be Like The Man", but every other track grabbed me immediately.

I know there are a wide variety of opinions out there, but I am shocked by the negative (ignorant) reviews of this album. The most hilarious was the one which used "Colbie Caillat" and "Poet" in the same sentence! I guess it's no surprise that this music is too intelligent and interesting for them. I would put this album in a league with Coldplay (Viva La Vida) and Feist (The Reminder) - my two favorite albums of the past few years (until now??.....)

I don't remember on what site I first heard "All The Same Mistakes", but once I heard it I was hooked on her voice, her sound and her lyrics. Her songs flow rhythmically and are pleasant to listen to. She speaks through her music directly to the heart. This album is definitely worth adding to your music library.

My initial prejudice against the $0.00 price and the award from Cosmo nearly prevented me from becoming obsessed with this relentlessly smart, urgent, gorgeous album. As others have pointed out here, Pauley is nothing like the typical "girl with a guitar." She rocks a lot harder, for one thing. Her voice expresses a far wider range of emotions, and she conveys the darker feelings -- anger, defiance, disdain, etc. -- with particular piquancy.

But this is hardly a dark album. Some of its songs, notably "Bravely" and "Fate Day by Day", portray and inspire resilience, even hope. In general, Pauley's lush arrangements, soaring melodies, and wry, ingenious lyrics give "Elijah..." an almost constantly uplifting quality. And her band deserves props too. They play with the same precision and emotional intensity that make her voice such a remarkable instrument.

Even if I'd had to pay for it, I'd give this album five stars. And I'll eagerly pay full price for her next one....

Just adding my voice to the choir... this is a smart, catchy, interesting album. It's a bit rock, a bit folk. Pauley is a contemporary woman singer-songwriter, but she doesn't fall easily into any genre. She's not "like" so-and-so - she has her own voice and style.

Although it's fine as background music while cooking dinner, working out, or whatever, it's also worth sitting down and listening closely since the songs make you think. A lot of them stay with you. The album holds up very well with repeated playings.

I caught Mieka Pauley live a few years ago and was impressed with her live. She has passion and a wry sense of humor. I recommend this to anyone that likes a slice of authenticity rather than the homongenous (anything but) "alternative" cryto-metal that passed for rock these days.

I happen to be in Boston for a day last fall and made a point to go to Club Passim. The bill that night was Josh Joplin opening for Mieka Pauley. I had never heard her or heard of her before that night. I was blown away from the first song onward. She is the real deal and will be here for a long time. Do not pass up a chance to see here live. Mieka is not some pre-packaged product of the music industry. She is a Harvard graduate that paid her dues busking on the streets and subways of Boston. Its hard for me to separate this cd from the memory of her live performance so my review is biased that way.

Great Indie music! Her voice has soul. The tunes are catchy. Her sound reminds me of the Katie Todd Band. This will definitely go on my iPod. It will get a lot of play. Great download value for free.

I stumbled upon Mieka Pauley's music more or less by accident here on Amazon and saw the album was free. Initially I though, OK it's free so it's probably lame. I downloaded it anyway and it's made onto my iPod instantly which is very rare.
Beautiful songs, great compositions, I love her voice. I can't believe the album is free, I would happily pay for it!

We've been a fan of Mieka's since we heard her on the Rock Boat in 2003. She continues to grow in both her musicality and song writing skills. She's not afraid to evolve and take her music in different directions and she does this by still staying true to what makes Mieka Mieka. Her lyrics are well thought and far from trite or average. She was rightly crowned the winner in "Cosmo's StarLaunch". Mark my words, this artist is about to become big and be a household name. get on board her fan bandwagon now and declare yourself a true fan before she is a household name and people think you are just being a lemming :0) - True fans are the ones who were around when an artist was just getting started.