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CD
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DC 901CD
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"High Llamas present Hey Panda -- a modern pop music/deep listening experience that could only issue forth from their personal quadrant of the galaxy. Hey Panda projects soulfully through an enervating abstract of today's popular music; the sound of the Llamas' stately melodies and expressive ditties laid open -- blissfully shattered -- with drums and vocals hitting different, burning sounds and contemporary production twists pulling the ear at every turn. For the past few decades, High Llamas have trafficked in contemporary pop sounds directed toward the avant end of the spectrum as much as not. But here the message was clear. Llamas' composer-in-residence Sean O'Hagan was determined to let go. Hey Panda does just that, with a set of tunes reflecting on multiple levels how definitions change over the course of a lifetime, radiating an optimism derived from the diverse conundrums of today. Hey Panda's wide reach is aided by two co-writes from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, (who bonded with Sean over a shared love of gospel soul during writing sessions), guest vocals from Rae Morris and Sean's daughter Livvy, production twists from Fryars and the stalwart, flexible presence of High Llamas. For all of its sense of departure, Hey Panda is a movement in the High Llamas oeuvre that's been a long time in development. Aspects of soul music were addressed at the time of Can Cladders; similarly, aspects of electronic dance music were in the mix in the late '90s, around the time of Cold and Bouncy. But nothing up to now has refocused the music of High Llamas so completely. Sharing the impulse of late-period Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, with further inspiration from Steve Lacy, SZA, Sault, No Name, and Ezra Collective, among many others, Sean O'Hagan and High Llamas are living joyfully in the new and the now, with Hey Panda!"
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DC 901LP
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LP version. "High Llamas present Hey Panda -- a modern pop music/deep listening experience that could only issue forth from their personal quadrant of the galaxy. Hey Panda projects soulfully through an enervating abstract of today's popular music; the sound of the Llamas' stately melodies and expressive ditties laid open -- blissfully shattered -- with drums and vocals hitting different, burning sounds and contemporary production twists pulling the ear at every turn. For the past few decades, High Llamas have trafficked in contemporary pop sounds directed toward the avant end of the spectrum as much as not. But here the message was clear. Llamas' composer-in-residence Sean O'Hagan was determined to let go. Hey Panda does just that, with a set of tunes reflecting on multiple levels how definitions change over the course of a lifetime, radiating an optimism derived from the diverse conundrums of today. Hey Panda's wide reach is aided by two co-writes from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, (who bonded with Sean over a shared love of gospel soul during writing sessions), guest vocals from Rae Morris and Sean's daughter Livvy, production twists from Fryars and the stalwart, flexible presence of High Llamas. For all of its sense of departure, Hey Panda is a movement in the High Llamas oeuvre that's been a long time in development. Aspects of soul music were addressed at the time of Can Cladders; similarly, aspects of electronic dance music were in the mix in the late '90s, around the time of Cold and Bouncy. But nothing up to now has refocused the music of High Llamas so completely. Sharing the impulse of late-period Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, with further inspiration from Steve Lacy, SZA, Sault, No Name, and Ezra Collective, among many others, Sean O'Hagan and High Llamas are living joyfully in the new and the now, with Hey Panda!"
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CD
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DC 469CD
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"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."
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DC 469LP
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CD
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DC 317CD
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"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."
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DC 317LP
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CD
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DC 211CD
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"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."
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