Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best little album you've never heard, December 27, 2000
Everyone's been asked at some point in their life to pass judgment on a close friend's artistic endeavor. I don't know how most people feel, but I dread being asked this favor. I hate to lie, and I'm a very judgmental person, which makes for a bad combination when all an aspiring artist wants is a little validation. So as a defense mechanism my response to the inevitable "What do you think?" is always the same: "I like it." Often a lie. But then of course, sometimes I actually do like it, and in these cases I'll usually elaborate a little bit: "No, no. I really like it." Mirah's You Think It's Like This, But Really It's Like This is one of those cases. Her first full-length album is like one of those revelations when you realize that someone close and dear to you has real talent. Not that Mirah is my friend or anything, but her delivery often has the feeling of someone giving you a bedside serenade or whispering melodies in your ear. Maybe it's Mirah's penchant for the second person, but I can't remember feeling so personally drawn in by a cycle of songs in quite some time. It would be easy to relate Mirah to just about any of the female artists who have preceded her. And though she has a vocal style comparable to Juliana Hatfield and often writes lyrics with a sexual slant a la Liz Phair, she comes across as far more intelligent than the former and far more innocent than the latter. In fact, it's only by a minor miracle of her abilities as a songwriter that she's able to pull off this sort of alchemy and create an album that bristles rather than bombards with sexual tension as she delivers lines like "You've got pollen on your nose/Where've you been?/Where've you been?" And in a stroke of real virtuosity, Mirah even manages to open up the template of this sort of confessional format. From the opening thumps of "Sweepstakes Prize" to the off-kilter "Of Pressure" to the fuzzed-out endings of "Murphy Bed" and "Water and Sleep," her and Phil Elvrum of The Microphones keep things remarkably varied. What can I say? I love this album. It's the little discovery I made this year that has offered me far more satisfaction inside during a rainy day and outside during a Sunday drive than I could have ever asked for. In a year when the boys' club of indie rock alienated many listeners, it's great to see that there are still great independent female artists who can create music that's intelligent, accessible and (most of all) fun.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is what happens when Mazzy Star catches her breath, February 5, 2004
Mirah is another in the growing line of stripped-down, lo-fi, simple, but somehow heartwrenching acts. That being the case, it's hard to describe this music without the aid of a million referents (Moldy Peaches, Cat Power, Azure Ray, April March, Edie Brickell, etc.).While I want to dislike this sparce music which consists mostly of Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn's delicate, sophomoric vocals and light tremomlo guitar, repetitive lines like "if we sleep together, will it make it any better" from "La Familia" make my inner 17 year old indie grrl do cartwheels. Run-on sentences aside, this album is the kind of stuff Jack White probably listens to on rainy days. "Sweepstakes Prize" builds from a do-wop wink into a fuzzy, rocking song. "Person, Person" recalls some on Donovan's sillier moments. The range of ground Mirah covers is represented best on "This Dance," which starts off full of lament, and threatens continually to build through three musically varied verses. The music is undeniably light, but it is also diverse enough to keep things interesting. It's a guilty pleasure that will probably become a permanent part of my personal rotation.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet, sexy, impish, hip and full, January 12, 2001
From the summer camp innocence of "person person," destined to become the teen anthem of lamented absence; the eternally adolescent complaint of "this dance"; the twenty-ish angst of "la familia" and then splintering into "murpy bed", "engine heart" - what's the use? You go where she takes you and you're happier for it.
Every tune tells a tale, every melody sparks a mood. "archipelago" pays a slight but decided tribute to Merrilee Rush - an interesting nod from so disparate a stylist - and as noted before, Liz Phair lurks in and around a good part of the disc, but Mirah's individuality and freshness leap out in a fun and enchanting series of works that will quickly become secret faves.
I wish I'd been around when the conversation that inspired the title took place. Overheard at a party? Part of a heated phone call? Whatever. Just fun.
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by Mirah 
