Los Migues is the solo project of Argentine singer-songwriter Migue. The prolific artist originally made his mark with the always fun indie pop band La Ola Que Quería Ser Chau. Having released two full-length albums in 2014, Migue is back with a new EP titled Arriba de la Mesa, recorded in his own home. Through his lyrics, music, and cover image, you can tell he’s in touch with his inner child.
The EP starts with “Treparme a tu Corazón,” which sounds like an acoustic version of Blonder Tongue Audio Baton-era Swirlies. It shows that Migue is a romantic right from the beginning: “Algún día te voy a besar sin avisarte,” he sings over the 90s-tinted track in his signature naïve and childlike voice. That romantic style continues on “Japonesa Cabeza,” where Migue tells his bae that he’ll go anywhere to make her fall in love with him, but it’d be better if she went to his neighborhood instead. The middle of the song features a cheesy telephone conversation that exemplifies his particular sense of humor, and it actually goes pretty well with the track’s oldies influence.
“Policías Hablando de la Luna” is a more up-tempo number with fuzzy lead guitars and quirky lyrics about police officers making conspiracy theories about the moon. It’s as close as he gets to what he does with La Ola Que Quería Ser Chau. On “Lo Sabemos,” he’s joined by Ro Marques on vocals, adding a little extra quirkiness to the 60s pop-inspired song. There’s something about the line “Y vamos a volver a ver el sol con los mismos ojos de ayer cuando para de llover” that’s so uplifting, and the sun-kissed instrumentation only heightens that feeling. He makes us believe that everything will be alright, even if we don’t feel that way right now.
The other female vocal feature appears on closer “Los Clavos,” courtesy of none other than his mother, Olga Algo. That alone is pretty awesome. The slow-tempo track speaks austerely about looking for comfort in the exhausting journey that is life. It’s a shame that Migue finally reduced this release from a full-length to an EP, because the songs are so endearing it makes you wonder what five more songs would have sounded like. But the five songs on Arriba de la Mesa are enough to fill our hearts with joy.