Customer Reviews

Can Cladders

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

 

 

The High llamas continue to mine the territory charted by Sgt. Pepper era Beatles and Pet Sounds era Brian Wilson. Though they are often criticized for that, it's hard for me to see how they can be faulted, especially since they do it so well. Since the Beatles broke up just a few years after Pepper, and Wilson slipped into drug-induced dimensia, it can be argued that the Llamas consistency in this terrain should now put them on an equal status with those who inspired them rather than at their feet. This is some of the most well-crafted, creative pop music ever produced. Each song is as fine-tuned as a Swiss watch. Can Cladders follows along the lines of Beat, Maize and Corn. Breezy and pastoral, with an emphasis on airy harmonies and string arrangments, as well as the sounds of acoustic guitars, harps, keyboards and light percussion. On Can Cladders, the High Llamas again eschew the electronic burbles and warrbles of Cold and Bouncy and head straight to the forests and fields with chamber orchestra in tow. As usual, the lyrics are abstract in the extreme, tending to create an overall impression or mood rather than having any meaning in a literal sense; however, having said that, there does seem to be an emphasis on a nostalgic impression of the English countryside. I first listened to this CD while cruising around in my car with the windows down on a sun-drenched spring weekend. Trees were blossoming and flowers were blooming and Can Cladders was the perfect soundtrack.

Can Cladders is just unbelievable. O'Hagan and company deliver a thing of beauty this time out, taking us in a few unlikely places. Namely, female vocalists perfectly compliment O'Hagan's voice, the strings and harp here, even busting out into r&b territory on the fantastic "Winter's Day." They approach Brasil '66 on "The Old Spring Town." A thoroughly delightful release, one that I can't stop listening to.

There is not much here that a High Llamas fan will find to be different from the rest of the band's material. It's more of the 'Llamas inventive blend of breezy pop/open field folk/light electronica. The lyrics are delightfully nonsensical, the harmonies soar gently, the melodies stay in your head . . . Yet, despits its similarity to other Llamas records, this one stands out from the last few, maybe just because the songs are a little better this time. This gets better with each listen. It is not Hawaii, but it is as good as or better than any High Llamas album besides that one.

If Brian Wilson had been born circa 1975, and the Beach Boys subsequently formed, as they were, in Brian's teenage years, then the High Llamas would be a nice approximation of what they might sound like today. As unfair as this may be to Sean O'Hagan, it is meant as a compliment. It is, however, becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss O'Hagan as a mere Brian "imitator". At this point in his - and the Llamas' - development, a serious argument can be made that O'Hagan has overtaken his hero/mentor. Using Brian's SMiLE as a point of departure, O'Hagan is now responsible for more of the quirky pop - all of it of high quality - than Brian himself. For casual listeners, the Llamas may seem a cheap imitation; for fans of lush, quirky, impressionistic pop music, the Llamas can now clearly stand on their own. Can Cladders is an unusual addition to their recorded canon, as it contains elements of what has made many of their previous recordings stand out.

While Brian and the Beach Boys are an obvious influence, if you were to take a blender, add equal parts Beach Boys/Brian Wilson, Stereolab and Pretzel Logic-era Steely Dan, the resulting album would sound a lot like Can Cladders. This points to clear development on the part of O'Hagan and the Llamas, as they move out of Brian's extensive shadow.

Whether we have to wait for the next Llamas album - or maybe O'Hagan will take the helm of another Stereolab CD - it will be interesting to see just where the imagination of Sean O'Hagan takes him next.

Wonderfull orchestral pop music. Great intrumentation. My folks would even dig this. I hear that Brian Wilson is not fond of Sean ! Who knows.......

"Can Cladders" is a relentlessly pleasant CD. I was recommended this by a knowledgeable salesperson in Duluth, Minnesota who seemed to understand my tastes. I was predisposed to liking the CD, and much of what has been said about the recording is absolutely correct: impeccable harmonies, beautiful melodies, and pitch-perfect vocalizations abound here. Having said that, the CD as a whole isn't startlingly original, sounding reminiscent of the overplayed Association hit "Windy." I especially found the lyrics to the opening track "The Old Spring Town" to be monotonous (though beautifully sung.)

For those who like their pop music with an easy listening bent, "Can Cladders" is a good choice; it is certainly not a CD for those who like edge in their music. I gave "Can Cladders" three stars because the lyrics are saccharine-tinged, and because by the end of the CD all the songs ran together in my mind into one very long, relentlessly pleasant piece of pop. I loved the brilliant and original album cover; sadly, the originality quickly faded after the first couple of songs.

When I first heard Gideon Gaye in 1995, it was like a dream come true. Out of all the attempts to create the masterpiece that Brian Wilson had not completed with Smile, which he since has, Gideon Gaye seemed the best.

The High Llamas did the strangest thing after Gideon Gaye. Almost as if to immitate Wilson after he aborted Smile, this band started to make smaller scale albums. Some, like Hawaii, had some great music, and others, Cold and Bouncy, were entire albums of little songs that sounded more like transitions to be used on bigger projects--like Gideon Gaye.

The songs on Can Clatters have lyrics and are, in fact, songs. The orchestrations are gorgeous and the singing is perfect for this music. But most of these are short songs that are quiet; soft minatures that cover that strange music that you sometimes heard in the late 1960s--it is not soft rock, it is not easy listening, but it is orchestrated pop that is soft and goes down easy. A lot of the music on Friends by the Beach Boys is an example. So is Can Clatters

This is good music and gets better the more you listen to it. It is almost as if Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks have taken over an easy listening orchestra and given them really good LSD. On its own terms this is interesting.

But I don't understand why the Llamas have retreated, exclusivly, into diddydom. Listen to Gideon Gaye and you hear the grand structures this band is capable of--it is the highest order music.

No one is saying this band should not do whatever they want, or put out a follow up to a big project that sounds like Can Clatters. But the High Llamas are coasting, and are much too smart, good and musically litterate to do this.