After getting her start in the music scene of Olympia, Washington, in the late 1990s, she released a number of well-received solo albums on K Records, including You Think It's Like This but Really It's Like This (2000) and Advisory Committee (2002).

Mirah has collaborated with artists such as Phil Elvrum of The Microphones, Tune-Yards, Susie Ibarra, Jherek Bischoff and Thao Nguyen.

According to The Rumpus in 2011, "Mirah's early records...are DIY mini-masterpieces that express a punk sensibility through broken drum machines, reverb-drenched guitars and ukulele.

The double LP reissue includes a remastered version of the record as well as a tribute to the album that features covers by Mount Eerie, Half Waif, Hand Habits, Palehound, Shamir, Sad13 (Sadie Dupuis), Allison Crutchfield (of Swearin') and more.

The Fader premiered the reissue record and wrote, "the LP established Mirah as one of the smartest and most exciting young artists in America.

[5] Her mother is a painter and massage therapist and together with her father ran a small natural foods bakery throughout Mirah's childhood and adolescence.

[7] By the time she got to college, her music collection had expanded to include a diverse range of artists[6] (Huggy Bear, Cat Stevens, The Pretenders, Nina Simone, etc.).

After graduating high school early at 16, Mirah spent a year traveling[12] before moving to Olympia, Washington, in 1992 to attend the Evergreen State College.

[16] She was also involved with several large scale theatrical productions including The Transfused,[17] a 2000 rock opera written by Nomy Lamm and The Need.

According to Laura Leebove in Venus Zine, listeners were "drawn to the unpolished sound...with its sometimes muffled vocals, raw guitars, and background-noise cracklings.

[1] According to The Rumpus, Mirah "was part of the K Records renaissance [of the late '90s] along with bands like The Microphones, The Blow and Old Time Relijun – all highly distinct, idiosyncratic groups with Calvin Johnson's influence perhaps manifesting in the form of a primitivist or intentionally naïve approach.

It was positively received by Allmusic, who compared Mirah's vocals to Lucinda Williams and called her voice "intoxicatingly endearing, as are the electronic beats and textures she uses as deftly as she does a ukulele or acoustic guitar.

[24] It received a positive review in Pitchfork, who praised the title track, stating "the song is deadly serious, dark, and full of the kind of not-so vague sexual innuendos we've come to expect from Mirah.

According to Allmusic, "the chirping birds, lonesome train whistles, and buzzing insects that pop up throughout [the album] make it feel like a collection of audio postcards from Takahashi and Mirah's vacation."

[9] Performed by Mirah and the Black Cat Orchestra, To All We Stretch the Open Arm is a collection of political songs by a variety of songwriters.

[28] According to Allmusic, "While the album certainly addresses war and oppression with an appropriately somber tone, To All We Stretch the Open Arm doesn't lose sight of how important passion and wit are to any good protest.

[17] Released on K Records on August 7, 2007, Share This Place: Stories and Observations is a collaborative album between Mirah and Spectratone International (Lori Goldston and Kyle Hanson, formerly of the Black Cat Orchestra).

According to Allmusic, "[the songs] are intricate and beautifully made, giving a larger scale to the big events in these tiny lives – birth, death, mating, eating, sacrifice, survival – while keeping the details that make them fascinating.

[14] The Old Days Feeling is a collection of out-of-print, reissued, and unreleased songs by Mirah,[37] featuring collaborative work by Phil Elvrum and Calvin Johnson of K Records.

(a)spera, the title of Mirah's fourth full-length studio album, released on March 10, 2009,[45] is a play on the Latin words for hope and difficulty.

[56] It was well received by music critics;[57][58][59] according to Pitchfork, "everything on Thao & Mirah feels of a cohesive collaborative piece, separate from either artist's solo work, a combination that synthesizes their individual strengths to outstanding effect.

The opera piece is titled "We Float," and according to the Kaufman Music Center, is about "exploring the substance and ethereality of spacewalks, sound and the human experience.

Changing Light features guest appearances by Mary Timony, Deerhoof's Greg Saunier, Jherek Bischoff, Emily Wells and Heather McEntire.

[71] Glide Magazine gave it 9/10 stars, stating the album "covers a lot of earthly ground, from animals to nature and seasons...Light deals with being in transition on deep levels, confronting mortality in fascinating ways."

"Both airy and thoughtful, "Sundial" stretches heavenward with rising strings and Mirah's voice at its most ethereal as it describes a cluster of ancient beings watching from everywhere in the universe at once—stars, urging the people on their orbiting planets to make their own happiness" [73] Understanding (2018) On September 7, 2018, Mirah released her 2nd full-length album on her imprint label Absolute Magnitude Recordings, "Understanding".

Mirah returned to New York and fleshed out the rest of the album with frequent collaborators Greg Saunier (of Deerhoof) and Eli Crews (Tune Yards, Julie Ruin).

Much more shimmering and robust than earlier lo-fi albums...Understanding doesn't shy away from layered vocals, synthesizer flourishes, and big crescendos.

The original record was remastered by Josh Bonati and the double LP includes a full tribute album featuring more than twenty contributing artists.

[65] According to The Rumpus in 2011, "Mirah's early records...are DIY mini-masterpieces that express a punk sensibility through broken drum machines, reverb-drenched guitars and ukulele, singing with frank sexuality in an occasionally child-like voice.

"[17] Mirah's ever-evolving live band has included friends and artists such as Bryce Kasson, Tara Jane O'Neil, Rachel Blumberg, Melanie Valera, Alex Guy, Andrew Maguire, Lisa Schonberg, Lori Goldston, Emily Kingan (Lovers), Christopher Doulgeris, Maia MacDonald and many others.