Mirel Wagner

Disturbing. [Feb 2012, p.102]

Wagner has poured her soul into recordings that may seem too mature for the 23-year-old but highlight the talent that Wagner has at communicating difficult subjects with ease and forming truly compelling songs.

Mirel Wagner possesses a curious physicality both in her lyrical conjurings and in the confident agility of her guitar playing, which together sound distinctive, specific, and personal even when considered against the decades of acoustic folk music that has come before.

At once stoic and graceful, her brief debut is as chilling as it is hypnotic, her lonely, minimalist guitar reeling you in as her hushed, unflinching vocals sing of all the things you'd rather not know.

Whether or not it's shtick--time will tell--it's a spooky, fully realized one.

While Wagner certainly distinguishes herself as a newcomer with a singularly focused vision, the album does verge on being too one-note and could use more moments when she sounds like she's relieved of the burdens of seeing into and seeing through human nature.

It isn't for everyone; it leaves questions of her versatility as an artist (though at this point in her career, it's not necessarily a priority); but most importantly, it's a singular, uncompromised vision that, in a world where the definition of beauty sometimes seems to be growing more restrictive, will resonate with listeners who prefer to find beauty in unexpected places.