Album Notes

A review from Alternative Press #158 Sept 2001
Overcast and melancholy, just the way we like it. | 7 out of 10 | It would be too easy to describe Mira as what you'd get if you spliced together elements from Cocteau Twins, the Sundays and Starflyer 59. Mira bring their own brand of shoegazing goth to the equation, in many ways picking up where those other bands left off. Adding to the lexicon of doomed love, Regina Sosinki's vocals light the way through the murk of melancholia, nearly rivaling Liz Fraser and Harriet Wheeler both artistically and emotionally. The heady mix of ethereal vocals and rich guitars with unusual rhythms and off-meter inflections makes Apart a distinctive album in its own right. - Mark Burbey


A review from England's Meltdown Magazine
(4 out of 5 - genre: darkwave indie/ethereal) Imagine The Cure crossed with Cocteau Twins and you've got Mira. Ice-cold, glass-shattering female vocals piercing through a wall of electric guitars and drums with some darn good, fringe-flopping tunes. Influence-wise, you've obviously got the aformentioned and a good bit of psychedelic rock, some Throwing Muses and maybe a touch of Radiohead? It reminds me of the good indie stuff that hit the UK scene in the latter part of the 80s, early 90s - the stuff that got buried under the debris of E-fuelled trance and the heroin-doused Hacienda produce. It's good to see a band resurrecting it and so successfully modernising it for the 21st century. - Natasha Scharf

A review from Outburn Magazine #16
PAINFULLY SWEET SHOEGAZER POP: | 4 out of 5 | Mira's sophomore release, Apart, paints a soundscape deep in swirling guitar washes, rumbling bass and drums, splashed with the blissfully sweet soprano voice of Regina Sosinski. Leaping forward with a release much more ambitious than their self-titled Projekt debut, Apart ventures into territory that seemingly justifies its position on the Projekt roster. Not to understate the talent of musicians that solidify Mira, it cannot go without noting that the true highlight of this band is Sosinski's gorgeous voice. Each track becomes a swirling storm of disjointed musical trauma, held glued together only by the heartbroken crooning of her shattered emotional shell. Sosinski's feelings have been hurt, crushed by the loneliness of pain and the sorrow of mistakes made by herself and others. The emotional epics in Apart are bittersweet, ranging from the self-forgiving "Plastique," to the all out rock mayhem of "Space." "Stainless" stands out as a begging for understanding, rising into a crescendo rich in mayhem and fragility. The guitar work on Apart adheres to no strict rule book, meandering in multiple directions, crossing endlessly, reaching for somewhere to go, yet never achieving a final destination. Truly a remarkable album, Apart recreates a sound reminiscent of the heydey of 4AD, prodding the listeners to become nostalgic to the sounds of Cocteau Twins, Lush, and My Bloody Valentine. Apart closes with "Hollow," an emotionally charged song that builds into an aural hurricane, finally dissipating into a calm that leaves you wanting more. - Joseph Graha