This Makes Us Smile

Much to our surprise, some of our favorite music of 2019 has come from Helado Negro and Y La Bamba, both of whom have lent a significant Latin flavor to what we've been listening to lately. Albums by both bands, This Is How You Smile by Helado Negro and Mujeres by Y La Bomba, made our 10 Best LPs of 2019 (So Far) list almost as soon as we first heard them, but both of these records have richly rewarded repeated listening, and our appreciation only grows deeper the more time we spend with each LP.

Helado Negro's music is unceasingly cheerful and amazing in its simplicity - few musicians have conjured more joy and happiness from so little.  Helado Negro is Roberto Carlos Lange, a South Florida native born to Ecuadorian immigrants and now based in Brooklyn.  The video above was recorded in Paris last April, and if we can spend our imminent retirement just hanging out by that canal every day with these folks, we'd be more than contented.

Veteran band Y La Bamba, on the other hand, have produced a complex and sophisticated album fusing music from all over the spectrum - mexicano, folk, electronica, dream pop, psychedelia, and more.  Portland's Y La Bamba is the project of Luz Elena Mendoza, a first-generation Mexican-American artist.  When we first heard the song Conocidos, we thought it might have been an early Animal Collective track that we had somehow missed.  The more we listen to the album Mujeres, the more little touches we discover in the music.

No big point or theme here - we're just pleased that these Hispanic artists and bands have contributed so much to our musical enjoyment this year.