"The Mandrake Project’s A Miraculous Container was one of the most invigorating discs of the year, full of intricate compositions, detailed atmospheres and lyrical playing that nod to progressive rock, minimalism and electronica."

-John Diliberto, Echoes.org

"Often described as cinematic or progressive, Mandrake Project's style is not limited to any one genre but creates tunes that feel both vibrant and familiar. It's a delicate balancing act, but it makes this album truly rewarding...

"Mandrake Project has created a vibrant musical universe that, while informed by multiple genres and idioms, is an exceptional musical amalgam, and, most importantly, a unique listening experience."

-Jack Huntley, All About Jazz

"the music is ...an otherworldly, often soothing, texture."

-Rege Behe, Pittsburgh Tribune Review

"One of Pittsburgh's most musically adventurous bands..."

-Scott Taty, Beaver Falls Times

"Mandrake Project paints with sounds, indeed..."

-Prog-nose.com

"Many of the songs built from simple motifs, with layers added until breathtaking crescendos were reached."

-Peter Renfro- USA Progressive Music

"...cerebrally progressive but highly listenable... The bottom line is that this isn't really jam band stuff, yet at the same time we see Jerry Garcia nodding pensively and appreciatively... These genre-defying gentlemen draw love from across the categorial spectrum."

-DirectCurrentMusic.com- Feb. 26th 2009

"...interesting sonic constructs, insidious melodies, colored, playful arrangements and varied instrumentation out."

-Thomas Kolrub, Baby Blue

"Here is another release that is hard to categorize; it's eccentric, layered, multi-faceted, ethereal, and vibrant; flourished with Floydian technicalities, the spaciousness of Coldplay & Sigur Ros, and the experimental tendencies of Radiohead; yet Mandrake Project stand on their own, going beyond the typical aura of progressive rock, or even nu-prog - for this is something that is sonically refreshing amongst the ears.  Yet don't let the mass of instrumentation fool you, for this isn't some wild out crazy jam band or avant-garde art rock band, although it is artistic and the music is highly skilled with perfection of accesibility for which there are no wild tangents; even with the layering and dense, lush arrangements - there is always a melodic posture that can be followed throughout the record...

"A Miraculous Container is truly an original record by all sorts, for Mandrake Project's spectrum goes from the thought minded indie rock crowd to the new wave of progressive rock sound; but it's truly a sound of their own - haunting, eased, and dark while at the same time being this mass of chaos that seems to be tame within a melodic manifold."

-Tommy Hash- YTSEJAM.COM, June 10th 2009

"A band difficult to catalog.  A mixture of progressive rock, post rock, jazz rock, music from movies and psychedelic rock.  Recommended 100%."

-Hugo Castro Salinas, Santiago de Chile

"A Miraculous Container is an indefinable CD, and it contains enough to turn heads in a lot of people... I'll pass resemblance to other groups informing you that in A Miraculous Container there are just as many nods to Jeff Buckley as King Crimson."
"With a disc as beautiful and rich,  I can only advise you to check it out very carefully at this marvel of the music industry."
-MagicFireMusic.com

"Rhythmically challenging and highly adventurous.  Mandrake Project have crafted some engaging pieces here, backing it up with some splendid instrumentation."
-Pete Pardo- Sea of Tranquility

"Many who start bands are surely masochists.  But to undertake the year-long Sisyphean task of creating Mandrake Project's preposterously ornate debut album, you have to be a little insane."
-Aaron Jentzen- Pittsburgh City Paper

"A heavily orchestrated space adventure"
-Scott Mervis- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Hours of sleep lost wandering on MySpace are sometimes rewarded by an extraordinary discovery, lost amid the mediocrity ambient music... A Miraculous Container traverses incredibly diverse backgrounds while maintaining a unique sound signature.
A masterpiece, simply.  This receptacle miraculous air, melancholy and mesmerizing cannot generate anything but enthusiasm.  If music soothes the savage, Mandrake Project softens that of a horde of bloodthirsty Huns.  Among the beautiful stones that 2009 has already offered, this disc is without doubt one of the most brilliant."
-Jean-Philippe Haas- Progressia.net
 Rating:  9/10

"Timeles & intense... dramatically powerful."
-VM-ragazzi.net

"The wisest of the erudites have compared them to Jeff Buckley... It features creatures both great and small in the same way that Pink Floyd and King Crimson use repetition, sound bites, and minimalism amidst a sea of psychedelic riptides.  They also incorporate various string instrument, a sax, a Moog, and the Chapman Stick.  Never are they used for the sake of it.  To the contrary, the strength of the album is in its systematic chaos since clever integration tethers disparate parts together."
-Josh  Turner- progressiveworld.net