Pitchfork

It's not a far leap from K Records' influential childlike aesthetic to songs about bugs. Still, proboscises and nectar-sucking are an excitingly unexpected change of pace from Mirah, whose last album, 2004's C'mon Miracle, notably included one of that year's best political songs, "Jerusalem". Guess this is why the songstress made a series of appearances in May with the Seattle's International Children's Festival.

"Credo Cigalia" comes from Mirah's forthcoming insect-related album with Spectratone International, Share This Place: Stories and Observations. Something about the lighthearted subject matter opens up Mirah's freewheeling lyrical muse, as she peppers her verses with entomological details and multi-syllabic vocab until she sounds like a more playful Joanna Newsom. Spectratone International help out with bouncy children's-theater string arrangements and exotic percussion atop acoustic guitar strums. "You've no choice but to listen to my song," Mirah deadpans; of course, she's singing about the insects whose humming is inescapable in some regions throughout the summer. Listening to Mirah's new song is an easy choice.

[from Share This Place: Stories and Observations; due 08/7/07 on K]