Customer Reviews

Buzzle Bee

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't get it. Everyone here is looking for that same old catch. Not as good as the old stuff? Each album is like a new band, with new tastes and ideas. Didn't anyone see the hidden meaning behind "The Passing Bell" where Sean O'Hagan clearly refers to laying down at the foot of the rye, and also the cover of the album is much alike to an old printing of the novel, the catcher in the rye. this is possibly thier best album. the fact that some of you cant stand a little change doesnt mean this album is bad. its just lightyears ahead of your mind.

So,okay, the High Llamas' songs all sound a bit samey. Their lyrics are nonsensical (but, you know, still kinda fun), and their chord progressions (which are admittedly more sophisticated than those found on the average Oasis album) are becoming more than slightly predictable. Yet Sean O'Hagen's ear for harmony, texture, serviceable melodies, and, yes, lush instumentation continues to fascinate, even though we've heard all this before. The High Llamas definitely have carved out their own niche, and fill it nicely. Aping Brian Wilson--arguably the greatest pop classicist of all time--and adding a dash of Stereolab-esque leftfield electro-acoustica is entirely admirable. O'Hagen's melodies could be stronger, and his songs could be more structured (they seem to meander aimlessly at times), but by now, all this is beside the point--which is to envelop the listener in a blanket of exotic pet sounds that will instantly transport him or her to a palm tree-lined avenue in midwinter Pasadena as the thrum of a convertible completes the feeling of dreamy ambience.

This album has revealed its subtle and magnificent grandiosity. Make no mistake about it, this is a highly ambitious and creative undertaking. This album is a frontier blazer. The first song is the single most beautiful and mesmerizing in the entire Llamas canon. The rest of the album follows suit. Every song is a sprawling work of art. Though it's their shortest album, its the High Llamas album of electronic epics. Yet another masterpiece from a band that is almost unable to create anything but masterpieces. Sean O'Hagan is the most talented and ambitious pop musician in the world right now. And has been for quite some time.

While some fans of the band might consider this a mini album compared to some of their work, what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. This is music that lures you into it's own little world ,beguiling and elegant. It is by now obvious how The Llamas and Stereolab interact and influence each other,but this is definitely a High Llamas disc. Overall this is a gentle ,dreamy collection of songs that like all the Llamas work just keeps opening up and breathing into you.

Highly recommended.

I think this album is just great. I see a lot of people putting it down, and then comparing it to their past albums. I don't think you can compare this album with past ones, I think each one stands on its own and if you don't like this one than just listen to Gideon Gaye or whatever one you like. Personally, I think they just get better and better, and while I might not like this one as much as Snowbug, I think songs like New Broadway and Get Into the Galley Shop make this one as grand as any other. I also missed the string section a little but since this album had to be done cheaper than others it probably could not be afforded. However, the album is just as beautiful and wonderful anyways. If this is the direction the Llamas are headed in, then I cannot wait until their next full length. Those who think that they are getting too predictable or whatever, just shut up and keep listening to Hawaii or Gideon Gaye.

sometimes sean o'hogan can touch me with all perfection on arrangements of his music, but sometimes i can only fell the hi-fi ultra stylistic futurist sound, without felling the composer touch. this album does something more realistic, he just assumed that composer less abilities and goes far away with the arrangements, that's why this album can make more sense than their last one, snowbug, an album that can't show us nothing new as a high llamas effort.

When it comes to the High Llamas, you probably could not find a bigger fan. I have everything they have recorded and play them all constantly. Which brings me to the new CD, Buzzle Bee. It seems that the Llamas have a new label, a sparser sound and a very disapointing CD on thier hands. After Snowbug, I thought that they had really found themselves. The songs on Snowbug were diverse, full of life and unforgettable. The songs on Buzzle Bee are plodding, sound the same and forgettable. What happened to the string section that has been on every recording since Gideon Gaye? Sean O' Hagen is truly one of pops great songwriters. What was he doing the last two years since Snowbug came out? I know that a band like the High Llamas have a hard time selling units in this jaded market and they must be a risk to any record label, but look at Stereolabs last few discs. They have been near brillant. The Llamas need to get back and write some good songs and put out a CD that will redeem them as the pop genuises they are. Buzzle Bee is a big disappointment.