Mirah /The Blow

by M.J. Fine

Rock/pop

Better not cry. Better not pout. Mirah's coming to town, and she doesn't miss Philly's bad moods one bit. Since her last performance here, she's done her part to spread good cheer, releasing Songs from the Black Mountain Music Project (K), a collaboration with Ginger Brooks Takahashi of the late, great Boys of Now. More of a musical scrapbook than an album, Black Mountain nestles six songs alongside a dozen tracks of instrumental fragments and field recordings. Mirah (top left) isn't touring with Takahashi to support the record, but she doesn't rule out playing shows together in the future. "Maybe at some point," Mirah says over e-mail. Without Takahashi, there's little chance Mirah can pull off the charming "Oh! September," a rave-up about what the ladies did on their late-summer vacation. Still, two of the disc's loveliest moments can be easily stripped down to voice and guitar: the meditative "While We Have the Sun" and "The Knife Thrower," which exemplifies the blend of naughty and nice that no one does better. Mirah promises to play songs from her third solo album, C'mon Miracle, due in May. "I think [C'mon Miracle will be] very different in feeling from either of my other two full-lengths," she says. "More internal, perhaps."

The Concussive Caress, or, Casey Caught Her Mom Singing Along with the Vacuum (K), The Blow's second release, finds a more mature Khaela Maricich (bottom left) leaving behind the precious confections of Bonus Album. Ranging from the erotic trip-hop of "How Naked Are We Going to Get?" to the piano-trumpet quarrel of "The Warriors' Hearts," Concussive Caress sounds scattershot on first listen. It makes more sense once you follow the conceit -- these are the things people want to tell each other but can't -- but even then, the styles are so jarring that it doesn't quite jell. Some of the dishes are delicious, but the meal leaves something to be desired.

Thu., Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m., $7, with Ana Oxygen, First Unitarian Church, 22nd and Chestnut sts., 800-594-TIXX.