“Tell me, Carmen, do you know what foreplay is?” When a minor character poses this question in the 1986 classic ¡Three Amigos! and is met with a negative response, she’s relieved. “Good,” she exclaims, “neither does El Guapo.” And while the brains behind Brooklyn-based Helado Negro, Roberto Carlos Lange, might not have much else in common with fictional villain El Guapo, the lead single from his latest album demonstrates a similar disregard for the necessity of seduction.
But before we get into that, it should be established that it’s not just El Guapo that Lange differs from; he probably doesn’t have much in common with his average listener either. First of all, born in Florida to Ecuadorian parents, most of Lange’s songs feature both English and Spanish. His music’s casual structures, silky-smooth melodies, and delicately pulsing electronics also invite few comparisons (and, as we all know, different can be scary). Furthermore, many of Helado Negro’s songs are profoundly odd, when considered, blending elements that would clash if wielded by a less-deft hand. All of which makes it that much more incredible that songs as strange as “I Krill You” can put a listener so instantaneously at ease.
Which brings us back to the topic of foreplay. Ordinarily, when an artist paints with an especially unusual sonic palette, they require a good half an album to warm the audience up to their unique sound. “I Krill You,” on the other hand, plunges headfirst into an ocean of lush ambient tones, skittering beats, and the siren’s song of Lange’s beguiling vocals. Reverent, eerie, and delicious, it transports you so quickly that you’ll be halfway through the song before you even realize you’ve been swept away. Or, in other words, “I Krill You” is one of the few tracks that requires neither common ground nor heavy petting to turn its listener quite immediately on. Although you may still wish it could buy you dinner…