Apart is the second CD by Mira on the Projekt label. Unlike most other Projekt artists, Florida based Mira plays more of a rock and pop sound instead of the ethereal, ambient, or gothic sound characteristic of most other Projekt bands. Probably the obvious gothic substance to Mira is the melancholic vocal lines of Regina Sosinski which involves the usual formulation of sadness flattened against ornate beauty. Nothing new in various circles of music except that hers is indeed pretty and sad at the same time. Its the type of exotic singing found when listening to the The Smith‘s Morissey and his crooning banter. It could be easy to compare them to The Sundays or Frente, because she has that type of sweet and girlish voice. But Mira is not that simple and not that happy. Yet at times Regina’s singing reaches the simple and assertive anthems such as those of The Cranberries or even Nighttime Birds-era The Gathering.

Apart approaches this musically as well. With a languid and steady manner, the songs build up and crash along though briefly. You almost want them to totally go over the top just a bit more. "Let loose" and let out some steam, a fellow critic noted.(1) The first song is an exception. "Space" has more experimental attributes such as energetic drums, trip hop drum samples, and delayed guitar experimentations. The rest of the album sadly reverts to typical shoegazer simplicity and the infinite sadness of goth.

Curiously, with a little bit more sophistication, Mira could approach the sound of another underground band, The Shroud. Complexity and variety not ignored, the songs could use a little more spirit and adventure as well. Something needs to come out of this band instead of cliches. And with a little bit more pizzaz and further experimentation, this could turn out to be The Gathering’s (How to Measure a Planet) equal. For now, let’s just wallow in this subdued state of mind: Apart. Sometimes its nice.

by Alzn
score 2.75 out of 5
1. from Troy Tipton, bassist of progressive metal band Zero Hour