(a)spera

May 2025 (a)spera studio Mirah A(spera) Cover Art.jpg March 10, 2009 Indie rock indie pop chamber pop K The Old Days Feeling 2008 Thao + Mirah 2011 (a)spera is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mirah, released on March 10, 2009. Produced by Phil Elverum, it met with a largely positive reception from music critics. Production and release (a)spera was the first album after a four-year hiatus by Mirah, after time spent working on collaborations and remixes of previous albums. Phil Elverum produced and engineered the album, as with many of her previous releases. It was released on March 10, 2009, on Olympia label K Records. Critical reception 82/100https://www.metacritic.com/music/aspera/mirah Reviews for (a)spera by Mirah Metacritic May 10, 2025 AllMusic 4 5 Alternative Press 4 5Although short of a masterpiece, (a)spera is Mirah's most satisfying start-to-finish disc since her 2001 solo breakthrough. [Apr 2009, p.135] American Songwriter 4 5https://americansongwriter.com/mirah-aspera/ MIRAH > (a)spera American Songwriter Schulman Nikolai June 30, 2009 May 10, 2025 Drowned in Sound 8/10https://drownedinsound.com/releases/14294/reviews/4136531 Mirah - (a)spera Drowned in Sound Skinner James 16 March 2009 10 May 2025June 2026 InternetArchiveBot Paste 8.3/10http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/05/mirah-aspera.html Mirah: (a)spera Paste Freedland Henry May 12, 2009 May 10, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20121020225348/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/05/mirah-aspera.html 2012-10-20 Pitchfork 7.8/10 PopMatters 8/10 Spin 3.5 5 Under the Radar 8/10(a)spera is a pan-global treasure trove of creaking emotions and untried moments of emotional clarity. [Winter 2009, p.73] The album received positive reviews, including 4/5 stars from Allmusic, a positive review in Dusted Magazine, 7.8/10 by Pitchfork Media, 8/10 by PopMatters, and 3.5/5 stars from Spin. According to PopMatters, "The musical marriage of Mirah and Elvrum is one of those rare perfect meeting of the minds—Jay-Z and Kanye, Butch Vig and Kurt Cobain, Phil Spector and... basically anyone who can sing. One could easily imagine Mirah being just another songwriter, singing turgid ballads about loneliness over an acoustic guitar (and indeed there is the occasional disturbing flash of this in her work), but through the intelligent production of Elvrum, and indeed, some of the other producers on (a)spera, she is able to set her thoughts upon soaring mountains of musical genius." Track listing Mirah, except where noted Generosity 3:43 The World Is Falling 5:00 Education 5:18 Shells Kane Mathis, Mirah 2:31 Country of the Future 3:34 The Forest 3:29 Gone Are the Days 3:40 The River 7:49 Bones & Skin 3:11 While We Have the Sun originally recorded in 2003; new version 4:40 Personnel Songwriting, etc. Mirah – Vocals, Songwriting, etc. Christopher Doulgeris – Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals, Producer, Organ (Pump), Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements Production Phil Elverum – Producer, Engineer, Guitar, Piano, Cymbals, Organ (Hammond), Bryce Panic – Producer, Percussion, Bongos, Drums, Vocals, Kalimba, Bells, Claves, Vibraphone, Hi Hat Tucker Martine – Producer, Engineer, Mixing Kane Mathis – Producer, Kora Adam Selzer – Producer, Engineer, Mixing Barry Corliss – Mastering Liz Haley – Photography, Cover Collage Instrumentals Jef Brown – Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor) Chris Funk – Dobro, Mandolin, Celeste, Hurdygurdy, Dulcimer (Hammer) Lori Goldston – Cello Cory Gray – Trumpet Radio Sloan – Guitar Doug Jenkins – Cello Robert Andrew Jones – Double Bass Emily Kingan – Caixa Justin Mackovich – Violin Lisa Molinaro – Viola Cynthia Nelson – Flute Tara Jane O'Neil – Bass, Guitar, Guitar (Bass) Toussaint Perrault – Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba Mehmet "Memo" Vurkaç – Caixa, Pandeiro, Repique, Surdo References 2 http://www.krecs.com/html/press/albumonesheet.php?interest=KLP195 K Records Press Release January 6, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20101213103423/http://www.krecs.com/html/press/albumonesheet.php?interest=klp195 December 13, 2010 dead mdy-all http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Mirah-Will-Finally-Let-Us-Know Mirah Will Finally Let Us Know What A Four-Year Album Sounds Like Tiny Mix Tapes January 6, 2009 (A)spera Review Heather Phares http://www.allmusic.com/album/aspera-mw0000810996 Allmusic March 10, 2009 2014-04-22 (a)spera Mia Clarke http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12809-aspera/ Pitchfork March 10, 2009 2014-04-22 Mirah: (a)spera C.L. Chafin http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/70521-mirah-aspera/ PopMatters 9 March 2009 2014-04-22 (A)spera Lindsey Thomas http://www.spin.com/reviews/mirah-aspera-k Spin February 19, 2009 2014-04-22 (A)spera Jennifer Kelly http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/4825 Dusted Magazine Feb 26, 2009 2014-04-22 External links MirahMusic.com Category:Mirah albums Category:2009 albums Category:K Records albums