“It’s cool to be in your feelings and it’s cool to be sad and it’s cool to feel all of these things.” Omar Banos, known famously by his stage name, Cuco, is a self-proclaimed “boring guy” according to an interview with the LA Weekly. When you’re eighteen and lovesick, the only way to make sense of what you’re feeling is by expressing it. But it’s the very fact that he’s boring makes him so relatable, especially to his dedicated fanbase of “Cuco Pebbles.” Sure he’s just another teenager reminiscing about “the girl of his dreams” and wishing “one day you can be my wife” but haven’t we all experienced these feelings of young love at some point in our lives? His sophomore release, Songs4u is compilation of these expressions wrapped into dreamy love ballads both innocent and honest like the back pages of a high school notebook.
Songs4u is more somber yet candid in lyricism than his first release in 2016, Wannabewithu, albeit he retains his signature sound which can be summarized as a genre mash of spanglish bedroom dream pop. He encases these romantic, wistful musings for unrequited love in layers of slowed 808 beats, simple yet groovy synth hooks and overlaid nonchalant vocals. This effortless musical style draws comparison to Homeshake or Mac Demarco’s love-laced Another One album. The first few tracks such as Winter Ballad and We Had to End it are wrought with muted mariachi trumpeting and jangly guitar chords, which create a familiar yet nostalgic texture. Cuco captures the awkward moments of blossoming love in Stay for a Bit, “Will you stay for a bit / or for forever?” and the nervousness of making that first move.
Lava Lamp is of moodier fare, “Someone’s out there waiting for me / i have to find her and tell her that I love her”, describing a long distance relationship bonded together by the light of a lava lamp that’s accompanied by an uptempo R&B-esque beat. A native Angeleno and of Latino descent, “Rest Easy I’ll See You Again” is reflective of this heritage, while also addressing the current issues of immigration. Contrarian to most Latino-Angeleno singers, the city is represented through his rose colored lens as a safe haven and guardian in “Stay for a Bit”. “The city wants us to know/Things will be alright/If maybe you were mine.” He concludes with “I’ve Left My Body and I Don’t Want to Come Back”, a cinematic instrumental that shows off his production chops as an artist as well as brings about the end to a triumphant close.
Banos reveals in a feature with Remezcla that there’s more than to what meets the ear than just love songs. Underneath the carefree sad boy exterior is the antithesis of the society and environment he grew up around. By expressing his feelings, he’s challenging his cultural ideals of conventional masculinity and the millennial faux pas that “caring isn’t cool” (appropriately his twitter handle is @icryduringsex). It’s refreshing, easy-listening, and honestly, empowering. As a fellow Angeleno and person of color, seeing him utilize this medium to bring about awareness and hope for marginalized people is inspiring especially during such a turbulent time in our country. Cuco’s message is as clear as day: choose love over hate and hope over fear. It’s easy to brush this off as naive youthfulness, but for this generation, this message resounds with us and that’s what makes him such a captivating artist.
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