Browse by Artist: HIGH LLAMAS, THE

Artist:	HIGH LLAMAS, THE
Title:	Buzzle Bee
Label:	DRAG CITY
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	DC 191CD

"The High Llamas return to your stereos with their sixth full-length album, featuring 8 new tracks recorded in 2000. Much continues to be made of the influence of both The Beach Boys and Steely Dan upon the High Llamas, but these are increasingly irrelevant comparisons for the next-millennium model High Llamas. These days, it's flavors of South America mixed with a delightfully obscure taste of sixties soundtrack composers, such as Francis Lai and Peter Thomas. With Buzzle Bee, the High Llamas are spinning a curiously English global music. The effect is pastel and day-glo all at once, a kind of cosmic-age-tropical-cabin music that sounds unlike anything else."

Artist:	HIGH LLAMAS, THE
Title:	Beet, Maize & Corn
Label:	DRAG CITY
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	DC 211CD

"Don't worry -- the signature melodies, harmonic structures and sweetly flowing beauty of Highest Llama Sean O'Hagan's style are very much in evidence on Beet, Maize and Corn however, in a radical rethinking of songwriting and arrangement, they are presented in a starkly changed manner. Eschewing electronics in favor of an organic sound, dropping drums down in the mix and emphasizing the acoustics of stringed instruments, Beet, Maize and Corn is an striking new statement from a songwriter who's been pitching his tunes into the ring for over a decade. If that sounds like a daunting task, it is easily done here simply a matter of changing focus, drawing water from different wells, reaching a bit deeper."

Artist:	HIGH LLAMAS, THE
Title:	Can Cladders
Label:	DRAG CITY
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	DC 317CD

"It's been three years and several months of fortnights since the world was last graced with the sounds of The High Llamas. The acoustic flavor of Beet, Maize & Corn remains present in the sound of Can Cladders -- a string quartet lays the harmonic bed of the material, joined there by a quartet of female vocalists. All of which lends the gospel truth to the Llamas traditional group profile of piano, bass and drums with vibes, organ and a bit of gut-string acoustic for good measure. Plus a few more touches and curves for extra-good measure and good flavor to boot -- after all, ear candy is the once-and-future name of the pop game that created Can Cladders, and The High Llamas have ever been explorers in search of that exotic spice. During the creation of this new music, O'Hagan channeled a lot of white soul into his writing, with inflections of Laura Nyro, the Laurie Records sound, Motown drum feels and late-'70s UK reggae. Listen for the Jerry Dammers bounce in 'Honeytrop' and you'll see how these sounds coalesce with The High Llamas' unsinkable sunshine pop. Equally eclectic in the lyric department, the songs of Can Cladders concern themselves with a number of different premises: a tour manager retiring to Derbyshire, an art theft in East Anglia, the exploration of the Arctic by a city fund manager and ruminations on the Canterbury scene and the life of jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby -- among several other humorous and poignant topics."

Artist:	HIGH LLAMAS, THE
Title:	Talahomi Way
Label:	DRAG CITY
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	DC 469CD

"For the past eighteen years, The High Llamas have been following their own lights, making records, and essentially occupying their own genre in doing so. Their music is timeless; elements of retro and modern share the space, creating a unique time and place that is outside the lines of history as we experience it. Talahomi Way is the latest evolution in their body of work, a record that will please those who enjoy their musical adventures while also providing a draft of their eternal mystery to neophyte listeners. With 2003's Beet Maize and Corn, Can Cladders (2007), and now Talahomi Way, their arrangements have breathed with acoustic space, giving the music a more intimate, personal resonance. Still, O'Hagan's lyric-writing is in the great traditions of the American and British 20th century songbook: story-songs, impressionistic feel-pieces, crafted without an aim towards personal exposition. Even so, their set and focus provide a view to the world as he sees it."

Artist:	HIGH LLAMAS, THE
Title:	Lollo Rosso
Label:	V2
Format:	LP
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	V2 70341

An excellent, naturally flowing remix album, featuring tracks rewired by: Mouse On Mars, Cornelius, Schneider TM, Jim O'Rourke, Kid Loco, Stock, Hausen & Walkman & the High Llamas themselves. "The six artists chosen by Sean O'Hagan and his High Llamas to remix their work have been selected carefully reflecting Sean's current interests and his vision of the art in '98. All have emerged from a rock background and now seek to express themselves in other ways.... Cold & Bouncy released earlier this year portrayed the High Llamas growing interest in Electronica with its subtle flashes of keyboard and tape trickery underpinning their traditionally winning formula of melodic understatement and masterful chord changes. Lollo Rosso presents a remarkable showcase of artists in love with pop's formats and history, but with artists willing to embrace these with a futuristic attitude."

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