THE HIGH LLAMAS

 

                                                                     Apricots
                                                                        1992

Gideon Gaye
1994

by request

 

Discogs

 

The High Llamas Biography

by Richie Unterberger

Although the High Llamas are nominally a group, they're pretty much the brainchild of singer and guitarist Sean O'Hagan. O'Hagan did some time in the London-by-way-of-Dublin band Microdisney, in which he was the songwriting partner of Cathal Coughlan. After Microdisney split in 1988 (Coughlan forming Fatima Mansions), O'Hagan released a couple of import-only solo albums before forming the High Llamas. The Llamas issued their debut, Gideon Gaye, in 1994 to high praise in the British press; it was released in the States a year later almost as an afterthought, with virtually no fanfare.

Comparisons of O'Hagan/the High Llamas to Brian Wilson/the Beach Boys are unavoidable, and not just from arcane critics. Anyone with a large Beach Boys collection will detect the uncanny resemblance to 1966-1970 Beach Boys, with the sophisticated melodies, the beautiful harmonies, and the elaborate production, with the emphasis on layered keyboards and orchestration. Echoes of Pet Sounds, SMiLE, Wild Honey, and Surf's Up predominate, though O'Hagan also claims Burt Bacharach as a major inspiration.

The Llamas began to build a bigger and bigger fan base throughout the late '90s (in the U.S. as well as the U.K.), and O'Hagan's ever-shifting, ever-growing stable of side musicians made sure every album was as beautifully arranged and carefully conceived as the last. Subsequent efforts include 1996's gorgeously sprawling Hawaii, 1997's warmly clinical Cold and Bouncy, and 1999's chilly Snowbug. Buzzle Bee arrived the following year, featuring a more stripped-down sound and guest vocals from Mary Hansen from Stereolab. Before her tragic death in late 2002, O'Hagan had Hansen onboard for the Llamas' chamber pop masterpiece Beet, Maize & Corn. Virtually eliminating the standard "electric guitar, bass, and drums" formula, Beet, Maize & Corn was full of lilting strings, warm horns, and gently plucked classical guitars, and proved to be a high achievement for the Llamas with both critics and fans.

Four years later, in 2007, O'Hagan and company revisited the sunny sprawl of Hawaii (as well as Cold and Bouncy's technical slickness) for the upbeat and lovingly crafted Can Cladders. For 2011's Talahomi Way, the band opted for a warmer, more overtly '60s-inspired sound. By the time of their next album, the band's membership included Pete Aves, Dominic Murcott, Marcus Holdaway, Jon Fell, and Rob Allum along with mainstay O'Hagan. Here Come the Rattling Trees began as a theater piece revolving around characters O'Hagan invented while bicycling around his Peckham neighborhood. The group performed it in pubs and theaters in 2014, then recorded the musical portions for Drag City to release in early 2016. 

 

Apricots

Tracklist

1		Travel
2		Banking On Karma
3		Birdies Sing
4		Period Music
5		Black Balloon
6		Apricots

 

Gideon Gaye


Tracklist

1		Giddy Strings	0:28
2		The Dutchman	4:41
3		Giddy And Gay	4:55
4		Easy Rod	2:07
5		Checking In, Checking Out	5:45
6		The Goat Strings	2:06
7		Up In The Hills	4:57
8		The Goat Looks On	6:14
9		Taog Skool No	1:37
10		Little Collie	0:44
11		Track Goes By	14:14
12		Let's Have Another Look	0:50
13		The Goat (Instrumental)	6:17

SEAN O'HAGAN High Llamas 1990

by request

 

Discogs 

 

Artist Biography by J. Scott McClintock

Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and arranger Sean O'Hagan founded his first significant band in Cork, Ireland, in the early '80s. Along with songwriting partner Cathal Coughlan and an ever revolving group of musicians, that band, Microdisney, achieved admirable U.K. popularity with their literate and often politically tinged brand of indie pop. After relocating to London in 1982, Microdisney continued to release albums that were critically acclaimed (but not big movers in the record stores) until late 1988, when the group disbanded. Coughlan went on to form the Fatima Mansions, while O'Hagan channeled his creative energies into his own solo project. O'Hagan's debut solo album, High Llamas, didn't cause much of a stir when it was released in 1990, but the Beach Boys-inspired instrumentation (and general West Coast smoothness) of the record gave a glimpse into where things were headed. O'Hagan formed the High Llamas, soon after his same-named solo effort, as a vehicle to indulge his baroque pop/Beach Boys/electronic interests, and released their first album, Santa Barbara, in 1992.

Also during this time, O'Hagan took up with electronic lounge purveyors Stereolab, remaining with the band as a full-time member until the release of 1994's Mars Audiac Quintet, but continuing to guest on subsequent releases. The collaboration went both ways, with Stereolab's Mary Hansen guesting on the High Llamas' 1999 album Snowbug as well as 2000's Buzzle Bee. O'Hagan also collaborated with Stereolab founder Tim Gane (on their one-off side project Turn On from 1996) and continued to spread the creativity around by working with Will Oldham's group Palace Songs, Japanese electronic wizard Cornelius, and a host of other notable artists throughout the late '90s. In 2003, the Llamas' seventh album, Beet, Maize & Corn, delighted critics with its almost exclusive use of string, brass, and woodwind arrangements -- elements that would carry over (but not dominate) their exquisite early-2007 effort, Can Cladders. Toward the end of that year, Gane and O'Hagan collaborated a second time for the soundtrack to the French comedy La Vie d'Artiste.  

Tracklist

1	Perry Como	4:34
2	Edge Of The Sun	3:40
3	Pretty Boy	5:09
4	Hoping You Would Change Your Mind	4:12
5	C'mon Let's Go	4:32
6	Paint & Pets	3:53
7	Doggy	4:36
8	Half Face Cat	3:28
9	Trees	3:55
10	Have You Heard The Latest News	3:59