COLUMN: Mirah Mirah on the wall
Imagine Jewel. Now imagine she’s good. There, you’ve got something a little like Mirah.
Born on her mother’s kitchen table as Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn, she grew early into that peculiar kind of genius that gives voice to long drives and rainy days. Her first album, “You Think It’s Like This, But It’s Really Like This” was a soft collection of lo-fi folk pop that charmed and disarmed. Her second album, “Advisory Committee,” is a revelation.
From the first 30 seconds of the opening track, it is obvious this folkie’s ambitions are a little more grandiose than most. Over the next five minutes, the song builds into some kind of mock opera with enough weight to create its own gravitational field.
Her lyrics, tender things like “Now you know how hard it is to let me go” and “It’s not what I think, but what you say,” become epiphanies when paired with Phil Elvrum’s innovative production. The sole member of the Microphones/Mt. Eerie, Elvrum’s addition brings an eclecticism to the mix that is woefully missing in other folk acts. The title track reclaims the steel drum as an instrument of rock and “Light the Match” slinks through your speakers with all of the alleyway passion an accordion and string quartet can provide.
Mirah’s talent rests in her ability to make old things new. While Lilith Fair was busy parading all things feminine through the consciousness of the late ’90s, Mirah was hiding out in Olympia, Washington, attending Evergreen State College and teaching herself to play guitar. When Lilith ended and we were all seriously sick of all things girl, Mirah released “Advisory Committee” and reminded the world (or maybe just me?) why we liked girls in the first place.
So whether you need a soundtrack to accompany the dumping of your boyfriend or are just looking for something to impress your iPod carrying coffeehouse friends with, listen to Mirah. It’s as natural as sitting around a campfire with a guitar, your best friend and a set of steel drums.
Zach Peldleston is a junior is English and a critic for the Utah Statesman. Send comments to
-zpendleton@cc.usu.edu