High Llamas - "Talahomi Way" (April 2011)

I've recently rediscovered my love for this band (especially their post-V2 period, I think their Drag City records are some of the best they've done) and I couldn't be happier that there's a new album (and US concerts) on the horizon from Sean O'Hagan and company.

Drag City teased a bit of info out late last year, but it looks like it's official down to the release date (4/11 for the UK and 4/19 for the US, apparently) and the cover art (which can be glimpsed in a tiny version here thanks to Stereogum.) It's apparently mastered by Tim Gane of Stereolab, which is promising since he's a noted audiophile.

Popshifter just posted a wonderful and essential career-spanning interview with O'Hagan, which can be found here. Here's what Sean had to say about the new record:

Can't wait!

 

A new high llamas album is an ocassion to celebrate, i hope this continue the line of the last two albums with their beach boys/chamber music feel, i much prefer it to the "stereolab" influenced electronica period.

Thanks for the tip!

 

Looking forward to it very much, even though I thought Can Cladders was not up to their usual high standard.

 

Thanks for the heads up, just played one of their earlier records over the weekend, first time in ages.

 

High Llamas..., I didn't even know that they were still around?

A friend of mine tried to turn me onto them a long time ago, along with Moxy Fruvous, The Red Balloon, Splitsville, BLEU, Mike Viola and some others. The first album that he played me by High Llamas was pretty catchy, but then I started buying their follow-up CD's and they never seemed to stick with me. I guess that I started growing tired of all of these groups trying to capture that special "Pet Sounds" vibe and I always just ended back with "Pet Sounds".

Chris C

 

They just never progress, it's the same album over and over and over with diminishing returns. I still like the first three, Hawaii is my fave.

 

I disagree, there's a lot of differences to be found between their records! Cold And Bouncy was something totally different from all their other records for example, with all the electronica going on...

 

I can totally understand how people feel that way, I think you're either just someone who "gets it" or doesn't (and there's nothing wrong with not getting it.) Sean O'Hagan is a master of subtle progression - I don't think any two High Llamas albums sound quite alike, they're just in the same general sphere. It's almost as if he keeps the same influences on every record, they're just mixed in different ratios.

 

I kept giving these guys chances but they just sound like parsley tastes.

 

A little bit of news from last week, Sean O'Hagan provided a tracklist and UK tour dates. Hopefully the US dates are forthcoming!

BTW, while I have this thread topped - can anyone tell me if Hawaii ever came in a mini-LP style sleeve? I've been trying to collect all the V2-era Llamas stuff I need as it all appears to be OOP.

 

This is great news.

I've been heavily into "Snowbug" for the past month....I went for many years of not buying any more Llamas albums but that was one I had never heard so I got it and now I think it is my overall favorite.

Whereas Hawaii is too long and slow, Cold & Bouncy is too electro-trendy, Gideon Gaye is too unfocused and retro, and Santa Barbara is not instrumental enough for me, Snowbug seems to take the best of all those albums and weave it into a very pleasant whole.

*Note* I love all those albums, they are just minor criticisms.

I've never heard any of the post-Snowbug albums. But my interest in the High Llamas is strong again, so I am sure I will soon. I'm glad Sean O'Hagen is still keeping it going.

 

I disagree with the first statement. Most of their albums sound quite different from one another.

But I agree that the first three (Santa Barbara, Gideon Gaye, Hawaii) are their best albums. I thought there was a slump with Cold & Bouncy, Snowbug, and Buzzle Bee, but that Beet, Maize, and Corn was a resounding return to form, eschewing the sterile feel of the preceding three. I thought Can Cladders was only half good.

I'm really excited to hear what's next! Hopefully there'll be some US tour dates. They haven't been here since 2004, I believe.

 

I hope so too; I saw them in 1998 or so in Pontiac, MI, at a club with maybe 100 people tops in attendance. It was the mellowest live "rock" show I've ever seen but it was great.

 

Parsley!!!

 

If you like Snowbug you should definitely check out their last two - Beet Maize & Corn and Can Cladders might be my favorite albums of theirs. They both have a similar feel, stripped-back (well, at least compared to something like Hawaii) and organic. Both feel very focused when compared to their 90s work, and while the gorgeous arrangements are still there they never overtake the songs.

 

You know, Italian flat-leaf parsley is actually a pretty amazing herb. It really enhances the flavors of countless dishes. It makes quite a few Italian pasta dishes and pizzas pop!

 

Beet Maize & Corn is definitely near the top of my "to get" list.

 

I've only heard the Hawaii album and I enjoyed it very much. I'm not much into electronica, so which album should I check out next?

 

The V2 albums are OOP (except for a comp) but they should be easy to find used.

You can't go wrong with Gideon Gaye or Santa Barbara....I love Snowbug too. Others love the newer albums. They haven't made a bad album.

 

I'd suggest Gideon Gaye. It's an excellent album, and given that it's pre-Hawaii, it's devoid of the electronica influence that pervades some of their later work. If you want to hear High Llamas in a more traditionally rocking mode, Santa Barbara is quite good, but very different from what's considered the High Llamas sound.

I'd also highly recommend Beet, Maize, and Corn. It's the first album they made after going astray in techno land, and it's got a very organic, low key, almost Brazilian bossa nova feel to it. Lots of acoustic guitars, quiet percussion, piano, horns, and no synths, samples, loops, blips or beeps of any kind. More importantly, I think the songwriting is the strongest and most consistent since Hawaii.

Definitely avoid Buzzle Bee. It's the most techno sounding of all High Llamas albums, and imo, it's kind of an unfocused mess. Compositionally, I think it's quite weak, overall.

Cold and Bouncy, the album after Hawaii, was an attempt to fuse elements of techno with the standard Llamas schtick. What's weird is that, for the most part, the eletronica stuff kind of sounds like an after-thought, like they decided to add these weird blips, beeps, and whirrs after they'd recorded the songs. Sometimes it's intrusive, other times not. My main problem with Cold & Bouncy is that it could've been cut by 1/3 - lots of flabby excess that's just dull, making the record very inconsistent.

 

+1

That album, to me, sounds like Sean O'Hagen was trying to appease the critics who said "Hawaii" was too derivative, by throwing in some electronica.

I guess it was sort of fashionable at the time....Wilco did something similar, although toned down, on "Summerteeth".

 

I have Hawaii in a mini-LP sleeve; the promo copies were released that way. I also have the official CD issue with bonus disc.

"All their albums sound the same" - And yet, the fans here all have different opinions about which one is best.

Personally, I think I've listened to Cold & Bouncy the most. Hawaii was too much some how; too slavish to the SMiLE/Pet Sounds instrumentation, too many forced segues... something. I thought C&B had a wonderful flow and Snowbug continued in that vein and was almost as satisfying. I agree that Buzzle Bee was their slightest work, but Beet Maize & Corn was a terrific album with wonderful background vocals and organic arrangements. I liked Can Cladders a lot too, but got less mileage out of it.

I'm happily surprised they're still together. After getting their shot on the V2 label they're one step above being a hobby band now... such is life in the post-physical-product millennium. We saw the High Llamas once at a half-full Mercury Lounge and it was a great night of music. I hope they play in the US this year.

 

I always chalked it up to the Stereolab influence, given that the two bands were involved with each other at the time. I remember around the time of Cold & Bouncy and Snowbug, it seemed like the line between the two bands was really starting to blur. The Sea and Cake were doing this kind of thing as well.

 

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person that enjoys Buzzle Bee - I don't reach for it that often, but I like it more than Cold & Bouncy, which doesn't hold my interest at all. It's definitely a transitional record, so it doesn't entirely work, but it's not as bad as its general reputation suggests.

I also enjoy Lollo Rosso (the remix record) whenever I pull it out. Other people adding electronic elements to the Llamas works better than when they add them by themselves.

 

I enjoy Lollo Rosso too. I think Buzzle Bee just seemed less substantial than previous efforts. It was a relatively short album and short on memorable tracks to my ears. I don't dislike it and frankly I think the Llamas are most effective and interesting when they employ electronic ingredients in their sound. I should give the album a fresh listen... it may press my buttons more than I remember.

The word "Techno" is being misapplied in this thread... the High Llamas have never sounded remotely like Techno music.