Music is one of the biggest reasons we are able to get through this year and the Spanish 2019 representative, Miki Núñez, is helping BIG TIMES, with his new album ‘ICEBERG’! The album features a total of eleven songs from pop-rock, uplifting Spanish music, songs in Catalan, and emotional ballads. After his amazing debut album ‘Amuza’ last year, he was able to pull off something even bigger. His new album is the silver lining during this year. So, of course, we had to write a full review of it! For his second album, Miki wrote on every single track and even if you do not speak Spanish/Catalan, you can feel how personal it is. He previously released the lead single for his new album Me Vale during the beginning of the summer. Last month he followed with the song Viento Y Vida together with Despistaos. Shortly after the release, he announced the release for his second album ‘Iceberg’, which was released this past Friday.
The first song off the album is also the track, which opens this whole era. Me Vale (eng.: I do not care) is about finding that one person on your side, which makes everything in life possible as long as you are together. The song is a party itself and celebrates life and happiness. It was written by Miki himself together with Diego Arroyo Bretano and Jaime Summers Blanco. A perfect start for the whole album!
Beberte Lento (eng.: Drink You Slow) is the second track on ‘Iceberg’. This song talks about a sexual relationship through the metaphor of a bottle of beer. The chorus translated goes like “I want to drink you slowly, Uncover moments, Soak my lips with every drop that comes out of you.”. The song has an uplifting sound with a catchy chorus. I love how I would not expect that message with the sound of the song, but I somehow love that unexpected. I still wanna dance to it and sing the lyrics 😀 The song was written by Miki himself together with Alex Perez and Arnau Moreno Alvaro.
Coming up next is Todo Lo Que Llevo Dentro (eng.: Everything That I Carry Inside). The song is about often not showing what is really inside of you, also as a defense, to people who criticize you without knowing everything that is going on inside of you. The song is powerful with drums, especially during the chorus. Sounds very bright and happy, which makes the message even more powerful. The song was written by Miki himself together with Paco Salazar.
Track No. 4 is Cada Pas Del Camí (eng.: Every Step Of The Way). The song is the first song on the album written in Catalan. Miki describes the song as the anthem to his own party. Inspired by the rock/pop music, which he heard all his life and inspired him. The song starts with guitars and a strong rock-vibe. The chorus is very strong, has a pop/rock style. The verses are calmer. This song is really such an anthem and makes me miss going to concerts even more! Written by Miki himself together with Marc Riera Madurga.
Coming up next is Viento Y Vida (eng.: Wind And Life), which was also the second single off the album, released last month together with Despistaos. The song is about when you are with your friends and suddenly everything seems fine and you do not think about the bad times. You are having a great time together with your friends and that is everything that matters at that moment. Miki wanted it to be one single on this record because what he sings about in it fits in well with the philosophy of his uncle, who died recently, and so I pay a small tribute to him. The song was originally written for his debut album ‘Amuza’ and was written by Miki himself together with Arnau Moreno Alvaro.
Mi Lugar (eng.: My Place) is the sixth track on ‘Iceberg’. The song was inspired by Miki’s cousin who could not fit in where he was from and went to the US for a few months, where he was the happiest person and found his place in this world. The music of the song fits perfectly being very uplifting and positive, giving you exactly the feels for the message. This is one of the songs you have to hear on high volume. Feel the energy and you can not standstill. The song was written by Miki himself together with José Javier Fernández Castillo, Ramón Salvador García Gabarda and Vincente Cervera Tamarit.
Following on ‘Iceberg’ is track No. 7 Sin noticias de Gurb (eng.: No News From Gurb). The song was inspired by the book with the same name. It is about an alien coming to earth and Miki’s favorite book. When they were looking for ideas to write about they thought about creating a fictional song about a book. The song itself is very pop/rock. The chorus is very powerful. I can already see this going very well at concerts and it is definitely a song to sing and dance to. It was written by Miki himself together with David Otero.
The next song is a collaboration with Lildami. The song is Arbre (eng.: Tree) and it is in Spanish and Catalan. Miki’s grandpa always said you have to put a stick in a tree so it grows straight. His grandmother on the other hand said a tree is still beautiful when it grows twisted and not straight at all. When his grandpa got too sick to go to the farm anymore, Miki decided to write a song about their views. The song has a very modern production and I love how he used this song with two different opinions to make in two different languages. The song was written by Miki himself together with Arnau Moreno Alvaro and Damià Rodríguez.
De Ida Y Vuelta (eng.: Back And Forth) is the ninth song on the album. The song was created in a songwriting camp, where they met to write songs for other artists. One afternoon they wrote De Ida Y Vuelta to cheer everyone up and Miki kept it because he liked the song so much. The song is indeed very uplifting, positive and a big party. A song you should save and play on repeat when you have a bad day, cos this will cheer you up. It was written by Miki himself together with Adrià Salas Viñallonga, Ander Valverde Ordoñana, Marc Albers Bas Francisco and Oriol Bas Francisco.
The second to last song is Mil Planes (eng.: Thousand Plans). The song is about a past relationship that did not end the way it should. Without the right ending, it turned into an on-off relationship with lots of pain. “It was very cool, very short and very intense but it ended up not knowing why: and that is why we had ‘a thousand plans ‘ to make.” – Miki said about the song. The song sounds very hopeful and calm. With the story, it seems the song wants to tell you, that everything will be okay. It was written by Miki himself together with Arnau Moreno Alvaro.
The last song on the album is No M’ho Esperava (eng.: I was not expecting it) and is the second song on the album entirely in Catalan. The song is a song he dedicates to himself. The positive and negative things after OT and Eurovision. He did not expect that so many people would listen to his music and go to his concerts, but on the other hand, that he suffered because he could not please everyone. Because it turned out very intimate, he wrote it in Catalan. The song is a beautiful ballad. Probably one of his most personal songs. You can still feel the positivity in it, even though it has good and bad moments inspiring it. For me, this is what makes Miki so strong. Always finding the positive things even though it might seem bad at that moment. But he turned it into something good. The melodies are wonderful. It was written by Miki himself together with Alex Perez.
Highlights:
- No M’ho Esperava – Miki is ending his album with an emotional and personal ballad in Catalan and this is just the power of music. I do not understand the lyrics but I feel the music and also what he expresses with these songs. Outstanding work! I love the melodies and his voice so much in this song. A very strong song to close the album. As powerful as ‘Escriurem’ from his first album Amuza!
- Sin Noticias De Gurb – It is the incredibly catchy chorus for me. The song is just uplifting. The music also takes me back to the early 2000s when everything seemed easier and the world was ok. Miki mentioned that the early 2000s sounds inspired him and this is certainly one of the songs. Love the feeling, production and yes I’m weak for great and catchy choruses.
- Cada Pas Del Camí – It was sooooo difficult to just choose three favorites. I thought it would be easier to add my fave songs to my own playlist to select my favorites on this album but I ended up adding basically every song. I went with Cada Pas Del Camí, because I think this song is something I need especially this year. After this year we all need our own party to cheer us up and help us to get back to normality at some point and hopefully back to concerts. So till I’m back at a Miki concert I will have my own party and hope we can celebrate together rather sooner than later.
What did they say? Iceberg reviewed by fellow ESCXTRA team members
As well as myself, a few other editors in the ESCXTRA team gave the album a whirl. Here is what they thought of Miki’s second album.
Final Thoughts
Overall team score - 8.5
8.5
'Iceberg' is even stronger than his debut album and you already see how he is growing as an artist and a person. The album features songs in different genres and for different emotions. You can celebrate with the album and it lifts you up but you can also have a good cry with some songs. As always we are very excited to see what Miki is coming up next in his career because he just keeps delivering and we are here for it!
