One of Roberto Carlos Lange's best albums to date, PHASOR is an excellent album that highlights what he does best: his beautiful vocal croon, colorful instrumentation of synth pop, indie rock, acoustic and electronica, and overall an inescapable and enjoyable helping of Lange's personality and heartfelt songwriting.
Roberto Carlos Lange, aka Helado Negro, is a signer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist and has been in music game for awhile. Lange often paints a self portrait of his personality and celebrates his Latinx heritage through his music which ranges from indie pop to folk to acoustic singer songwriter to electronic music, all while singing in both English and Spanish. It's often hypnotic, colorful and psychedelic. Although he's been in music for over a decade, his sixth album back in 2019 is when I was introduced to him. This Is How You Smile brought much of his personality and character in an accessible, memorable, and enjoyable package that seemed to wow critics and introduce newcomers. This album is still a fantastic release that's consistently dreamy as it is vivid in Lange's range.
Now eight albums in comes PHASOR, his new album via 4AD. What about his seventh album Far In? I never got around to it but I'm sure it's nonetheless an enjoyably consistent album in his catalog. But back to PHASOR. The core of PHASOR shouldn't come as a surprise if you're an Helado Negro fan: lots of Lange's signature crooning, lovesick lyrics, catchy pop melodies and a dreamy, pastel colored atmosphere. The outer layers of PHASOR is a little different by bringing in more electronics and traditional synthesizers. Regardless it's a bit catchier and stickier and more instantaneous but regardless it's another great Helado Negro album. At nine tracks at 35 minutes in length, Lange doesn't play around... but when listening to the songs themselves he does seem to be playing around.
He's always been playful with his music and the opener "LFO" definitely lives up to that description. Meaning "Lupe Finds Oliveros," it's steadily paced, energized, and an instantly gratifying indie rock song that is certainly one of his best songs to date. "I Just Want to Wake Up With You" is a glossy, groovy piece of seamless electro pop that you can't say no to unless you don't like to smile. "Best for You and Me" is yet another album highlight, this time it's more synth pop. The backing vocals are great, which I've heard come from none other than Sufjan Stevens, and the melodies and hooks are pretty inescapable. His line of "when I go outside and look at the moon way to long" is great and picturesque. There are beautiful, slowly plucked acoustic bangers like the ghostly "Colores Del Mar" or the skeletally beautiful closer "Es Una Fantasia." That closer I just mentioned, is pretty fantastic with its organic instrumentation and jazzy percussion. "Echo Tricks Me" and "Out There" have subtle lowkey grooves that remind me of excellent Stereolab deep cuts. "Flores" has some of the best harmonies on the album and highlight Lange's voice. "Wish You Could Be Here" does stick out on the album with its more prominent electronica but not in a negative way. Its bubbly electronics are pretty infectious and great.
Lange strikes yet again on PHASOR, which I would argue is easily one of his best albums to date. Although This Is How you Smile is still my favorite and encapsulates Lange more perfectly as a whole, PHASOR is an excellent album that highlights what Lange's Helado Negro project does best: his beautiful vocal croon, colorful instrumentation of synth pop, indie rock, acoustic and electronica, and overall an inescapable and enjoyable helping of Lange's personality and heartfelt songwriting. You can't really turn away or frown at the music of Helado Negro and PHASOR is certainly no exception. I triple dog dare you.
My Rating: 8 / 10
Favorite Songs: "LFO," "Best for You and Me," "I Just Want to Wake Up With You," "Colores Del Mar," "Es Una Fantasia"
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