I & Ear, 2005
Miguel Mendez, a Long Beach, California native, is a strange sort of newcomer to music -- a once-physics major at UC Berkeley, Mendez exercises his songwriting ability in a unique style that he -- for better or worse -- can call his own. Pulling some obvious influences from indie and folk greats while remaining unique is, in and of itself, a difficult task; Miguel Mendez appears to be up to the challenge with his debut album, My Girlfriend is Melting.
Also producing the album, Mendez exercises an element of control that proves to be to his benefit. Perhaps the track most exemplary of this is the nearly-psychedelic "Catchin A Wave." Layers of creative reverb and echo turn this track from what might be a dull, humdrum track that's been strung along for too long a time into an interesting, introspective piece. A clean acoustic guitar tops the piano-based track, and, while sounding slightly off-kilter and maybe a little out of tune, manages to provide a good middle ground between the hollow, bar style piano and Mendez's echoing vocal lines.
While My Girlfriend is Melting is undoubtedly not full of clean, slick recordings, it is full of heart and meaning. Each melody feels strained for, each lyric thought out -- and not in the sense of a lack of ability, but rather, in the sense of a surplus of dedication and inspiration being present in Mendez. My Girlfriend is Melting is a highly creative work that showcases a wide range of potential for Miguel Mendez, and with any luck, is a sign of things to come.