Mirah | (a)spera

Most Likely To: be a poultice for your sorry, ailing soul.

As names go, Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn makes quite an impression. But even when she goes simply by her first name, Mirah is unforgettable. I still remember exactly where I was when I first heard her gentle voice cresting over the funereal dirge of strings and percussion on “Cold, Cold Water” – the most arresting song from 2001’s Advisory Committee.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Mirah is one of the most sophisticated members of the K Records roster, as well as one of the most enduring. She returns with (a)spera, her fourth solo release, which descends directly from her last, 2004’s C’mon Miracle. Even though it has been five years since her last solo release, Mirah has been busy getting remixed (Joyride, 2006), collaborating (Share This Place: Stories and Observations with Spectratone International, 2007), and offering a rarities collection (That Old Days Feeling, 2008).

The record begins with “Generosity,” in which Mirah offers ethereal, Kate Bush-style vocals. Her voice has many guises including haunted (“The World is Falling”), layered (“The River”), and sultry (“Country of the Future”). The nearly a capella simplicity of “Gone are all the days” intensifies its message of loss that runs through (a)spera: “Once we learned to hide / our size did keep us safe / the sidewalk cracks were wide / but to jump ‘em made us break.”

Though her songs rely on relatively simple constructions, Mirah continues to experiment successfully with instrumentation on (a)spera. Polyrhythms drench “Country of the Future” in a wash of percussive cacophony. A brass section adds to the urgency of the guitar and tom line on “The Forest,” as Mirah proclaims, “we had a life so sweet and enough to eat / now it’s all just bones and a long way away from home.”

Mirah never bores, nor is she hamstrung by her own sincerity. Just as she sings on “Bones & Skin,” “It’s in the mouth / it’s in the blood,” Mirah’s songs work because they seem innate rather than contrived. The record’s closer, “While We Have the Sun,” leaves listeners with one last gift: “And if you think you’re lonely then just listen for the tune / of all the stars I left for you in the chest of the moon.” Thanks for sharing yourself with us, Mirah.

Listen to “Gone Are the Days” from Mirah:

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