Fighting Lion returns with his new EP, “Sparkling Days, Sparkling Nights”. This is the followup (both sequentially and musically) to last year’s “When I see the fallen leaves turning red by the setting sun my heart is overwhelmed EP”. This is where we see Álvaro Menéndez grow as a musician, develop, and refine the sound that is Fighting Lion. The backbone of this EP is still the ukulele, playing Beirut inspired Balkan rhythms over the course of six colorful instrumentals. “Old Floorboards” finds strong melody from layering the ukulele. “Setting Sun” almost starts on the same foot, until a glockenspiel comes in. Adding new instruments is what differentiates this release from the previous. “Morning Fog” is a calm, plucked number beginning with a short melodica solo, a fog horn before the morning clears the skies. “Distant View”, another ukulele and glockenspiel piece, brings in minimal percussion. Each piece paints a vivid picture such as “Grass Mountain”, is a strolls upon a summer knoll. The album closes with “Summer Night Breeze”, a quiet, minimal lullaby. Ten minutes of beautiful music will need to hold us over until the Fighting Lion release. As always, can’t wait.