Mirah
Advisory Committee
K Records

Though there isn't a soul who hasn't heard the niceties of breathy female vocals and sincere, confessional lyrics, Mirah's 2000 debut You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This, surprised with its innovative lo-fi pop. The sounds were clean, the lyrics fresh; and the right blend of fuzzy production by Phil Elvrum of the Microphones sculpted a confident pop record of just the right amount of sighs and sass.

Advisory Committee, the follow-up, gallops bravely in with the single, "Cold Cold Water," a promising Western romp in which Elvrum's sound is evident with Mirah's vocals floating over the bang and flair of drums and electric guitar. But Mirah's charge weakens by the second track, "After You Left," a disappointing, if inoffensive tune that lacks the tug of her earlier odes to boyfriends leaving or long gone.

And this seems to be the trouble with the remainder of the titled baker's dozen. While Mirah's voice is as sweet and clear as expected, and some of the tracks are distinctly and beautifully Microphoned (especially in "Mt. St. Helens"), her presence is uniformly and unexcitingly predictable. From "After You Left" to "Body Below" to "The Garden," Mirah's vocals are an extended exhalation of broken-hearted "please don't leave me" pleas.

The innocent "who, me?" delivery of lines such as her previous, "If we sleep together, will you be my friend forever?" is absent. As a result, the songs don't stick.

The lull of Advisory Committee is tender, but it lacks the spunk of her former efforts, even with Elvrum's help. Her opening gallop, for the most part, slows to a steady trot until she fades into the sunset of the untitled final track.

But perhaps there's hope. In the accordion serenade "Light the Match," Mirah sings, "I want to start a fire in your heart tonight/ Oh, tell me why do I so yearn to cause trouble."

Bring on the trouble; our hearts are ready.

Let's take her words as proof that there's a creative itch hidden somewhere, anxious to pester Mirah back into the lippy limelight in which she glowed in the first place.

— Lavina Lee (lavina at flakmag dot com)