Lana Mir -the Ukrainian transplant who began her career as a teen spokesperson for Ukraninian Radio but moved to the States and pursued a career as a chanteuse, looks amazing and on her current EP Goodbye Girl sounds just as good.
The press release namechecks Sade, Astrud Gilberto, and Dido and on “Nothing Can Come Between Us” I can just about hear it. Lana began her New York career playing “Brazilian standards” in East Village night clubs and she wears the comparisons as tight as a black cocktail dress, the first song nods to her roots.
But that doesn’t seem to be where Mir is going: the last two songs seem to point to a retro sixties slither.The title track has a Herb Alpert feel to its swing and the penultimate number, “Unbreakable” , reminds me of the Tracey Ullman of You Broke My Heart In 17 Places. It is more classic pop ballad than either “The Girl from Ipanema” or “Fly Me To The Moon” and with backup harmonies and a disquieted passion that could teach Zooey Deschanel how to emote with cool.
Not best of all (“Unbreakable” is the real deal), but more tantalizing than anything else is a smooth jazz cover of the Stone Roses “I Wanna Be Adored”. The acoustic guitar seems to want to break rhythm and play flamenco at any moment and Lana’s voice has a sleepy seductiveness that’s all come on by the end of song -and all four songs are available on itunes.
Good, because it’s a real good four songs and promises well for Lana’s in production first album dropping sometime before the end of the year.
If you can’t wait that long, Lana is at Arlene Grocery on Wednesday, May 5th. Not sure of the time yet but the tix are at the door.
And if you can’t wait even that long…? Here’s the link to the “I Wanna Be Adored” video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zsjltIhb3s