| Phasor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 9, 2024 | |||
| Genre | Avant-pop | |||
| Length | 35:02 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | Helado Negro | |||
| Helado Negro chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Phasor | ||||
| ||||
Phasor is the eighth studio album by American musician Helado Negro. It was released on February 9, 2024, through 4AD. It received acclaim from critics.
Inspiration for Phasor dates back as far as 2019, during a trip to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to learn about the complex synthesizer machine "Sal-Mar" developed by American composer Salvatore Martirano. [1] The technology was engineered to create an infinite number of sound sequences, which stimulated Lange as to the "pursuit of constant curiosity in process and outcome". [2] He referred to the songs he subsequently crafted as "the fruit" and the creation as the "unseen magical process" that he did not want everybody to see because "not everyone cares to see it". [3] His intentions with the record were to "keep it not so heavily based on traumas or personal identities" but rather draw "inspiration from fiction". Other means of inspiration for the album include Lange's previous relocation to Asheville, North Carolina in order to be closer to his family, as well as the theme of food and the phrase "you are what you eat". [4]
Phasor features nine tracks that Lange promoted through the release of the lead single "LFO" (abbreviation for "Lupe Finds Oliveros"), an "immersive experience that entrances and bewilders", performances at the Pitchfork Music Festival in London and Paris in 2023, [5] as well as a world tour through Europe and North America in spring 2024. [6]
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2024) |
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 84/100 [7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Beats Per Minute | 82/100 [8] |
| Mojo |   [9] |
| The Skinny | [10] |
| Uncut | 9/10 [11] |
Phasor received a score of 84 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on nine critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [7] Uncut felt that "while Phasor standouts such as 'Flores' evoke Os Mutantes in a narcoleptic fugue[, ...] on 'Colores Del Mar' and 'Out There', he strikes an equally deft balance between aqueous abstraction and buoyant, big-hearted avant-pop". [11] Mojo stated that "rendered with a delicate, impressionistic touch, Phasor's dreamlike entreaties cut far deeper than predecessor Far In's lockdown ruminations". [9] Tom Johnson of The Skinny called it an "endearingly tight collection" as well as a "rich and absorbing record that truly transports; placing the listener in a languid, half-lit morning where you're never quite asleep and never fully awake". [10] John Amen of Beats Per Minute wrote, "With Phasor, Lange navigates an important rite of passage, testifying to life’s glories and anticlimaxes. He’s become an unflinching realist without sacrificing his curiosity, his capacity for wonder". [12]
All tracks are written by Roberto Carlos Lange.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "LFO (Lupe Finds Oliveros)" | 3:06 |
| 2. | "I Just Want to Wake Up with You" | 3:50 |
| 3. | "Best for You and Me" | 3:05 |
| 4. | "Colores Del Mar" | 3:44 |
| 5. | "Echo Tricks Me" | 4:09 |
| 6. | "Out There" | 4:54 |
| 7. | "Flores" | 3:19 |
| 8. | "Wish You Could Be Here" | 3:53 |
| 9. | "Es Una Fantasia" | 5:02 |
| Total length: | 35:02 | |
Musicians
Additional contributors
Future Days is the fourth studio album by the German experimental rock group Can, released on 1 August 1973 by United Artists. It was the group's final album to feature vocalist Damo Suzuki, who subsequently left the band to become a Jehovah's Witness, and explores a more atmospheric sound than their previous releases.
Hex is the debut studio album by English post-rock band Bark Psychosis. It was released on 14 February 1994 by Circa Records in the United Kingdom and on 11 March 1994 by Caroline Records in the United States. The term "post-rock" was coined by music journalist Simon Reynolds in his review of the album for Mojo magazine.
Singing Saw is the third studio album by American indie rock musician Kevin Morby, released on April 15, 2016, on Dead Oceans.
Flying Microtonal Banana is the ninth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 24 February 2017 on Flightless Records in Australia, ATO Records in the United States, and Heavenly Recordings in the United Kingdom. It is the first of five albums released by the band in 2017 and their first exploration of microtonal music, utilising custom built instruments.
Pleasure is the fifth studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Feist, released on 28 April 2017, through Universal Music Canada. Thematically, the album is said to explore "emotional limits ... loneliness, private ritual, secrets, shame, mounting pressures, disconnect, tenderness, rejection, care and the lack thereof." All of the songs on the album are actually raw takes, as Feist explained on her Twitter: "Our desire was to record that state without guile or go-to's and to pin the songs down with conviction and our straight up human bodies."
Roberto Carlos Lange, better known by his stage name Helado Negro, is an American musician. In 2019 he was awarded a United States Artists Fellow in Music and also the recipient of a 2019 Grants to Artists award in Music from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. In 2015 he received a Joyce Foundation award.
This Is How You Smile is the sixth studio album by American musician Helado Negro. It was released in March 2019 under RVNG Intl.
Something Shines is the third studio album from the French singer Lætitia Sadier, was released on 23 September, 2014, under Drag City records.
I Don't Live Here Anymore is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band The War on Drugs. It was released on October 29, 2021, through Atlantic Records. The album received widespread acclaim, with one of its singles, "Harmonia's Dream," receiving a nomination for Best Rock Song at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.
Oxy Music is the fourth studio album by Australian musician Alex Cameron, released on 11 March 2022 by the record label Secretly Canadian. Produced by Cameron himself, the album maintains his distinct storytelling style from the perspectives of various characters. Initially inspired by Nico Walker's autofictional novel Cherry (2018), Oxy Music primarily revolves around a fictional man grappling with the opioid epidemic in the United States. The album's release was preceded by the singles "Sara Jo", "Best Life" and "K Hole". Critically, the album has garnered generally favorable reviews.
Take It Like a Man is the seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Amanda Shires. Produced by Lawrence Rothman and recorded at the RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, it was released on July 29, 2022, through ATO Records.
Mercy is the seventeenth studio album by the Welsh musician and composer John Cale. It was released on 20 January 2023 by Double Six Records, making it Cale's first album of new songs in over a decade. It features collaborations with Tony Allen, Laurel Halo, Weyes Blood, Tei Shi, Animal Collective's Avey Tare and Panda Bear, Dev Hynes, Sylvan Esso, Actress, and Fat White Family. It was inspired by current events such as Donald Trump's presidency, Brexit, COVID-19, climate change, civil rights, and right-wing extremism.
Strays is the fourth studio album by American country musician Margo Price, released on January 13, 2023, by Loma Vista Recordings. The album was produced by Price with musician Jonathan Wilson at his Fivestar Studio in Topanga Canyon, and features contributions from Mike Campbell, Sharon Van Etten, and Lucius.
Little Rope is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Sleater-Kinney, released on January 19, 2024, on Loma Vista. Produced by John Congleton, the album was preceded by the singles: "Hell", "Say It Like You Mean It", and "Untidy Creature".
Anarchist Gospel is a 2023 studio album by American folk punk musician Sunny War. The album has received positive reception from critics.
Three Bells is the fifteenth studio album by the American garage rock musician Ty Segall, released on January 26, 2024, on Drag City Records. It was produced by Segall and Cooper Crain, and received acclaim from critics.
All Life Long is an album by American composer Kali Malone, released on February 9, 2024, through Ideologic Organ. It was recorded between 2020 and 2023, with contributions from the Macadam Ensemble and Anima Brass. It received acclaim from critics.
Filthy Underneath is the fifth studio album by the English musician Nadine Shah, released on 23 February 2024 through EMI Records. It received acclaim from critics.
Untame the Tiger is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Timony, released on February 23, 2024, through Merge Records. It is her first solo album in 15 years, following 2005's Ex Hex. The album received positive reviews from critics.
Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is the solo debut studio album of London jazz musician Shabaka Hutchings, working under the name Shabaka. It was released by Impulse! Records on 12 April 2024. The album was preceded by two singles, "End of Innocence" and "I'll Do Whatever You Want".