Lana Mir is a Ukrainian singer/songwriter, based in New York. Her debut self-titled album, released August 23, 2010 from Unfiltered Records, is lighthearted, cute, and very mellow. It’s definitely a soft album, which is the best way it can be described. I picture slow dancing and flowery skirts and swings and people “going steady.”

Get ready to sit back, relax and smile—for the most part. Lana Mir’s voice is pretty. With a tinge of pop it reminds me of the soft breeze before the end of summer. It’s lightweight and wearable. It’s probably best described as a durable, cotton-blend. This is what makes her 11-track album refreshing, though at times it can be very cheesy.

First track, “Say You Need Me,” is the cutest plea I’ve heard in awhile. Her blithe vocals singing lyrics like, “Say, say, say, say you need me/Tell me you’ll love me all my life” doesn’t make the track sad, but instead it becomes romantic in a falling-into-blankets kind of way. It’s adorable. The minimal instruments repeating in underneath the vocals isn’t distracting, instead they blend quite nicely.

The next track matches the mood of its previous. Her album is very consistent. There are orange sunsets and the overall feeling is optimistic though fleeting.

Track four, “Summertime,” is airy enough to remind you of your own summers. Feelings of nostalgia definitely rush in and it feels good with her voice soothing your mind side to side.

Lana Mir reminds me of Norwegian singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche’s, especially his “Sleep On Needles” and “Two Way Monologue” tracks. The emotional draws are quite the same and the lyrics are heavy, emotionally, but set against a background of 72-degree breezes.

Fifth track, Mir’s cover of Stone Roses’ “I Wanna Be Adored,” is done really well. I thought I would have something to criticize, but her voice stretches through the ballad and you can feel her spin on it. And it’s different than the rest of her tracks and is a nice break from that “life’s too short” message.

Most of the tracks sing about summers, not-letting-go moments, life being beautiful, relationship woes, etc. Call me cynical, but I think one, or maybe two, cute tracks about “not being scared about life” and “catching the moment” is enough for one album.

Over half the album breathes of those moments. I get it, but there’s only so many different ways someone can reiterate the message. While she sings each of them beautifully, like sound-candy to my ears, I feel a little too nostalgic—and sometimes that’s not always a good thing.

I have to admit, though, that I really enjoyed a lot of the poppy-acoustic sounds throughout the tracks. In “Believe in Me,” the simple chorus is catchy and alluring. It’s the simplicity in the lyrics coupled with her attractive voice that really did it for me. There was also something about “Goodbye Girl” that made me miss Blonde Redhead, though without the softness.

Overall, Lana Mir’s self-titled debut was an airy ride through a soft, steady and light end-of-summer wind. Her consistency throughout each track definitely made the album feel harmonious, though at times it became rather repetitive and quite predictable.

–Victoria Phetmisy, September 7, 2010