Cara de Espelho is the result of a meeting of some of the names that have left a mark in Portuguese music over the last few years: Deolinda, Ornatos Violeta, Gaiteiros de Lisboa, A Naifa, Humanos, among others. The starting point are the lyrics and compositions by Pedro da Silva Martins (author and composer for Deolinda, Ana Moura, António Zambujo, Lena d’Água), combined with instrumental compositions by Carlos Guerreiro (Gaiteiros de Lisboa, José Afonso, Fausto, GAC), Nuno Prata’s bass (Ornatos Violeta), Luís J. Martins’s guitar (Deolinda, António Zambujo, Cristina Branco) and Sérgio Nascimento’s percussion (Sérgio Godinho, David Fonseca, Humanos, Deolinda), to serve the unmistakable voice of Maria Antónia Mendes (A Naifa, Señoritas). Acting as a gateway to the group’s sound, the two opening singles, Corridinho Português and Político Antropófago, reveal a sound and poetic identity that stands on the shoulders of Portuguese popular and traditional music, of the critical sharpness of its poets and singer-songwriters, but with eyes set on a future that requires renovation, intervention and a commitment to the world.
“Cara de Espelho / thus named / is a mirror to others’ flaws….” This is the theme to one of the songs, which also sums up the entire concept of the band: each song is a reflection of virtues and flaws, of weaknesses, of greater or small powers, of habits, vices, of what it means to be a citizen or, more broadly, of what it means to be human.
