Mirafiori

"No podemos volver a casa" is the first album by MIRAFIORI, four years after their debut EP "Cinco Minutos" (Annika Records). There's several reasons for this long gap between recordings: Nacho is living abroad, which makes production and recording a lot harder, and the Annika label disappeared during the album's work. Finally, and after several efforts from all sides, MIRAFIORI's first album is ready to be released on Autopop in the summer of 2006. Recording of this magnificent dream-pop album started in late 2004 at the Amarillo studios owned by Guille Mostaza (singer on Spanish band ELLOS and producer of PORTONOVO, among others), with almost all songs already written and recorded as demos by Nacho. The songs belong to different moments, from the times of MIRAFIORI's first demos ("Estamos desafinados"), the months following the first EP in Madrid ("Recuerdos del lago artificial", "Luciernagas", "Nosotros y nuestros abrigos", "Agujeros en la arena"...), and Nacho's long stays in Germany ("En la luna", "Hasta que vuelva", "Acto de contricción") and France ("El idioma de las flores"). Nevertheless, the album's whole doesn't suffer from this, but keeps a remarkable consistency and a common feel which, when you get to the last track on the album and look back, defines MIRAFIORI with a gorgeous sound of their own and a melancholic spell. The songs have been recorded for the album in Amarillo, Guille's own studio, and work has been distributed between Nacho (lead and backing vocals, guitars, programming and keyboards) and Guille (bass, synthesizers, percussion, keyboards, programming, violin...). Reyes García-Miró, singer in PORTONOVO, is also doing a cameo hidden among other friends in one of the songs. By the end of the spring in 2006 they consider the album to be finished and ready to be manufactured and released on Autopop. In "No podemos volver a casa" we find echoes of two of their biggest influences: the sound of Spanish indie-pop cult bands like FAMILY and British indie-pop from other cult acts such as THE FIELD MICE, TREMBLING BLUE STARS or BRIAN; but there's also winks to other basic references or any sensitive pop lover, such as Harry Nilsson, THE LEFT BANKE or António Carlos Jobim and bossanova. Although this bossanova influence is more on the spiritual side than soundwise: there's some arrangements which will remind you of Brazil's great composers and arrangers, but what is really over the whole album from its very title ("We can't return home") is the saudade, the feeling of mourning and despair that's present in all the songs, which makes this album a perfect listen for rainy afternoons, for quiet and lonely Sundays at home. A melancholic, beautiful pop record.