"Sleep on Fire" was inspired by Miranda's friend who was asleep in his bed when the apartment downstairs caught on fire. After the friend was rescued and the fire was put out, they found that the only part of the friend's apartment that had burned was the floor beneath his bed.[5]
Lyrically, the songs on The Magician's Private Library address sleep and dreaming.[4] Miranda explained in an interview with About.com that,
"A lot of times when I’m writing songs, I’m writing them to myself, trying to help me get through something, or work something out, understand something. Hopefully that sense is something I can share with people. A lot of these songs are about dreams, and the contrast between dreaming and reality; exploring the divide between the two, and becoming aware that living in dreams can be dangerous, and that the present moment is all we have."[3]
The Magician's Private Library received generally favorable reviews. The album holds a score of 68 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic.[16] Andrew Leahey of Allmusic said, "The results are alternately ghostly, sexy, and nocturnal, but they’re always moving."[7] Likewise, Mark Perlaki of Gigwise.com described the album as "lush, ethereal, and brassy-toned."[6] By contrast, Drowned in Sound's David Renshaw said, "Holly Miranda makes nice music, sometimes really pretty, but it doesn’t say anything real or move emotions to anywhere even nearing an extreme."[9]
Many reviews focussed on Dave Sitek's role in producing the album. Ben Schumer, writing for PopMatters, said, "he seems to have carried over that 'cough medicine/Tinkerbell' vibe from his time working with Scarlett Johansson," but added that Miranda "is overwhelmed by her collborators." Schumer also noted that the album sounded too much like a TV on the Radio album.[14] Conversely, Drowned in Sound's David Renshaw commented that "Sitek’s production is impressive throughout and shows a less seen side to his technique."[9]
"Waves" was released as the album's second single on April 26, 2010,[20] and received positive reviews for its production and vocals.[21] On March 24, 2010, the New York Post offered a free download of the single on its website.[22]
Promotion
To promote The Magician's Private Library, Miranda released the limited edition EPSleep on Fire on June 9, 2009. Only 1,000 copies were pressed.[23] Miranda also released an EP titled Choose to See, which included her cover of Yoko Ono's "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" as well as covers of David Byrne ("Glass, Concrete & Stone"), When in Rome ("The Promise"), Swans ("God Damn the Sun"), and Lauryn Hill ("Ex-Factor") that was included with the purchase of The Magician's Private Library at Rough Trade shops.[24]
