3 out of 5

Label: Asthmatic Kitty

Produced by: Roberto C. Lange

Lots of oohs, some Spanish, some fuzz.  As I was not familiar with Roberto Lange’s Helado Negro alias, under which he’s already recorded for Asthmatic Kitty, I was rather pleasantly surprised by the relative restraint shown on ‘Believe You Me,’ as the label (in the recordings I have) often caters to a more sparkly output.  Not that Ombre feels completely out of place or doesn’t have its share of indulgences, tippling into HiM-ish bossa nova or latter-day Stereolab quirk on occasion, but when this collaboration between Lange and minimalist vocalist Julianna Barwick actually romances its elements into songs, the Ombre suddenly becomes more than background music.  The problem is that most of it is background music, as it feels designed more as an experiment with layers than creating an actual textured listen to grab a listener.  In some places this really works: ‘Dawning’s haunting wind-sounding instruments that float in above Barwick’s faded vocals – which are tuning in and out with the song’s dominating hum – swarms into an effective dreamscape of a track; something to transport your mind elsewhere while tuned in.  The next track, ‘Sense,’ is a bit more upbeat and willing to audibly drop elements in and out, but still takes advantage of this sense of build to get you involved.  It seems that when Lange has something to say, sing-talking atop of the following ‘Cara Falsa,’ he doesn’t have as much focus to make the backing track as compelling.  Whispery vocals, summery music vibe… not a bad thing, but something that can easily be ignored.  Of course, we like our whisper-summer thing, especially when we can bob our heads to it, so groovier tracks like ‘Weight Those Words’ definitely have their merits, and Lange doesn’t always skimp on the skills, weaving in some fascinating horns in the final moments of that song.  ‘Believe You Me’ will give you a certain impression from its opening songs of haze and pop, but the group spends the remaining album darting expectations at key moments.  While this doesn’t push the album into being something completely arresting, it can’t be dismissed as just a genre piece; both Lange and Barwick bring valuable elements to the band to produce some absolutely worthwhile and fresh moments.