Search - High Llamas :: Retrospective

Sounds to lift the weary-hearted

Michael W. Draine | Acton, MA United States | 08/25/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Best-known for his string arrangements for Stereolab, High Llama Sean O'Hagan may be short on originality, but possesses an extraordinary gift for combining Bacharach melodies with the plush orchestration in the tradition of Brian Wilson. O'Hagan's songwriting bears the imprint Robert Wyatt's tidal meditations. (Now there's an idea for a cross-generational collaboration!) Though the repeated use of a banjo lick more suggestive of "Sesame Street" than Morricone wears out its welcome the fourth time it crops up, there's over an hour of comfort music on this double CD collection."

Donald Fagan meets Brian Wilson for tea in the country

sikarv | MD USA | 07/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sunshine music! Multi-talented Sean O'Hagan has come up with some of the most pleasingly crafted pop song experiments of the last ten years. Period. There are so many high points throughout this intelligently selected, generous two-disc set that I can't say just what are the best numbers here. This collection flows like an idyllic summers day and reminds me of daydreaming outside in a cot on a lazy day. If you at all like Pet Sounds through Sunflower Beach Boys or Steely Dan's more gracefully melodic pop displays, then surely you need to snatch this up like the prize that it is. Excellent banjo and horn orchestrations along with dreamilly beguiling tuned percussion work throughout. While the impression given is more like one mood stretched out to song length, the repetiousness of the melodic motifs in the end results in an overall dream-like impression. Sean O'Hagan may work best at creating singular moods that sustain themselves rather than writing songs which gradually unfold, and this High Llamas compilation shows just how sensitive an ear Sean has for arranging enchantingly off-beat, experimental pop minitures. The performances by the musicians is always just right. The level of quality arranging (O'Hagan's strongest suit) throughout makes this cd a welcome pleasure. The High Llamas aren't so much about songs as they are about setting a particular mood, one that's always welcoming and unassumingly small scale. Not insignificant, more like charmingly inviting and pleasantly unobtrusive, when you feel like things being "just so...""