“Frío” [ft. Helado Negro]

New York City winters can be brutal and unforgiving, especially for transplants from warmer climes. On “Frío,” the latest single from Buscabulla’s second EP, singer Raquel Berrios laments how the sun-drenched streets of Trujillo Alto have left her vulnerable to New York’s frigid air and the physical pain it can inflict (“this cold hurts”). The New York-based Puerto Rican synth-pop duo are joined by Helado Negro’s Roberto Carlos Lange, whose South Florida childhood underneath the palm trees allows him some soulful commiseration. If it all seems a bit dramatic, well, it certainly is; the conversation between Lange’s blanketing baritone and Berrios’ hushed, breathy plea for some “sangre caliente” (“hot blood”) makes for a psychedelic lamento for the warmth of their hometowns. Lange’s influence is apparent as the analog glitch and smooth synths coalesce with Buscabulla’s beat to reach a mellow, spaced out bliss. It’s the sonic manifestation of a beach daydream, concocted from underneath the covers as the wind whistles by a frosted window.