This Is How You Smile

This Is How You Smile
Studio album by
Helado Negro
ReleasedMarch 8, 2019 (2019-03-08)
Studio411, Brooklyn, New York
Heard City, Manhattan, New York
CD Alley 2, Durham, North Carolina
Molly & Keith's House
Island Universe Space
AIR Serenbe, Atlanta, Georgia
Length40:55
LabelRVNG Intl.
ProducerHelado Negro
Helado Negro chronology
Private Energy
(2016) 		This Is How You Smile
(2019) 		Far In
(2021)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[1]
Metacritic82/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Exclaim!8/10[4]
Loud and Quiet7/10[5]
Pitchfork8.5/10[6]
PopMatters7/10[7]
Spectrum Culture[8]
Tiny Mix Tapes4/5[9]
Uncut7/10[10]
Under the Radar7.5/10[11]

This Is How You Smile is the sixth studio album by American musician Helado Negro. It was released in March 2019 under RVNG Intl.

Critical reception

In a year-end essay for Slate, Ann Powers cited This Is How You Smile as proof that the album era format is not dead in 2019 but rather undergoing a "metamorphosis", with artists such as Negro utilizing the concept album through the culturally-relevant autobiographical narratives, which in this case is a "bilingual love letter to his family".[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Roberto Carlos Lange

No.TitleLength
1."Please Won't Please"3:03
2."Imagining What to Do"3:22
3."Echo for Camperdown Curio"1:09
4."Fantasma Vaga"4:23
5."Pais Nublado"4:32
6."Running"4:24
7."Seen My Aura"4:08
8."Sabana de Luz"3:16
9."November 7"2:22
10."Todo Lo Que Me Falta"4:35
11."Two Lucky"3:53
12."My Name Is for My Friends"1:38
Total length:40:55

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes[13] and AllMusic.[14]

  • Roberto Carlos Lange – vocals, Casio MT-30, electric banjo, electronic percussion, classical guitar, electric guitar, Juno, Korg synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, noise, ondes, Roland Juno-6, vibraphone, field recording, recording, mixing, engineering
  • Adron – vocals
  • Raquel Berrios – vocals
  • Luis del Valle – vocals
  • Nene Humphrey – vocals
  • Ela Minus – vocals
  • Victoria Ruiz – vocals
  • Xenia Rubinos – vocals
  • Kristi Sword – echo, footsteps, whistle
  • Matthew Crum – guitar, bass
  • Keith Reynaud – guitar
  • Owen Stewart-Robertson – guitar
  • Jenn Wasner – guitar
  • Sufjan Stevens – piano
  • Bryan Abdul Collins – synthesizer
  • Chris Devoe – synthesizer
  • Oliver Hill – viola, violin
  • Jason Trammell – drums
  • Joe Westerlund – drums
  • Jason Nazary – drums
  • Jay Wynne – drums
  • Tim Barnes – percussion
  • Andy Stack – steel pan
  • Jason Ajemian – bass
  • Logan Coale – bass
  • Nick Sanborn – synthesizer arrangements, writer
  • Aquiles Navarro – trumpet
  • Angela Morris – saxophone
  • Nathaniel Morgan – saxophone
  • Jean Cook – field recording
  • Michael Kaufmann – field recording
  • Isaac Lekach – field recording
  • Matana Roberts – field recording
  • Matt Werth – field recording
  • Rachel Alina – mastering
  • Anna Grothe-Shive – photography
  • Will Work For Good – design
  • Michelle Grinser – lacquer cut

References

  1. ^ "This Is How You Smile by Helado Negro reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  2. ^ "This Is How You Smile by Helado Negro Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  3. ^ Phares, Heather. "This Is How You Smile – Helado Negro". AllMusic. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  4. ^ Sylvester, Daniel (March 5, 2019). "Helado Negro: This Is How You Smile". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  5. ^ Rankine, Ollie (March 7, 2019). "Helado Negro: This Is How You Smile". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  6. ^ Torres, Eric (March 8, 2019). "Helado Negro: This Is How You Smile". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  7. ^ Ingalls, Chris (March 8, 2019). "Helado Negro and the Gentle Urgency of 'This Is How You Smile'". PopMatters. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  8. ^ Stevens, Nathan (March 13, 2019). "Helado Negro: This Is How You Smile". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Jrodriguez6. "Helado Negro – This Is How You Smile". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  10. ^ Lewis, John (May 2019). "Helado Negro: This Is How You Smile". Uncut (264): 29.
  11. ^ Axeman, Stephen (March 4, 2019). "Helado Negro: This Is How You Smile (RVNG)". Under the Radar. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  12. ^ Powers, Ann (December 17, 2019). "The album is evolving". Slate. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  13. ^ This Is How You Smile (Liner notes). Helado Negro. RVNG Intl. 2019. RVNGNL54.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ "This is How You Smile - Helado Negro | Credits". AllMusic. March 8, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.