Mini-review: Tangos in English by The Alex Krebs Tango Sextet

Mini-review: Tangos in English by The Alex Krebs Tango Sextet

My favorite American tanguero, Alex Krebs & his band, has release a two-track tango single - "Tangos in English".

You can get them as a digital download at Bandcamp but also in the vinyl format. Not my thing but I know you crazies exist. I am totally fine with my FLACs here.

Both songs are played in the milonguero style - the phrasing, the tempos, the expression all want you to get up and dance.

My first reaction when I sent it to my headphones was, this is tango but weird. It's the English that makes it so (in my head). Not because I don't like English, obviously: what creeped me out was that I could understand the lyrics.

I have a love-hate relationship with Spanish, which I don't speak. Tango would hardly have its identity without it, and yet I refuse to learn it or dig deeper into what the lyrics say fearing that, upon closer inspection, the lyrics when understood would sound trite and would subtract from, not add to, my enjoyment of the music.

The lyrics to these two songs are (thankfully) playful, perhaps ironic, and you won't find any broken corazón in them. Good.

The vals What we do explores what lovers can do to each other. It has a lyrical side, too: "with your soft embrace, you can feel my soul" but also "you can put me in jail, you can post my bail." :D

The milonga Shoes is a love-tribute to, you guessed it, shoes - dancing shoes to be exact.

The beginning phrases reminded me a little of Campo afuera, you'll forget the resemblance shortly after the singer joins in however.

It's a pity we only have two songs here (I know, I am an ungrateful bitch). I would so love to have at least a half-album to mix and match on my milongas! I will will play these the first chance I get, perhaps using them as the last songs in a tanda.

Thanks, Alex, for putting these out and make some more, please!

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