Snowbug

Mojo - "...the melodies are often charmers which deserve and reward perseverance....SNOWBUG often enthralls....Fastidious and enjoyable..." Q - 4 stars out of 5 - "...a seductive album that combines the group's trademark glowing strings and layered keyboards with Stereloab's innovative use of new and old instruments..." Magnet - "...[They've] moved on to greener (and more creative) pastures. Adding Stereolab singers Mary Hansen and Laetitia Sadier...as gentle contrast to [Sean] O'Hagan's uncomplicated vocals seems like a...good idea....gentler and more pastoral....opening new doors..." Alternative Press - 3 out of 5 - "...a very soothing, loungey mood....When the setting is right, you'll gently sway to the cool, breezy, sophisticated pop, unconsciously inhaling the sweet noise that fills a room like a single clove cigarette..." Spin - 7 out of 10 - "...Tracks are suspended in a familiar womb of French horns, glockenspiels, and harpsichords that ensure that their vaguely melancholic notions...never edge into despair....a bracing form of madness..." The Wire - "...Easy on the ear, SNOWBUG is an unassuming collection of vibrantly played pop confections, exquisitely and intelligently composed, with a cool twist of eccentricity lightly squeezed over them..." Spin (12/99, p.228) - 7 out of 10 - "...Tracks are suspended in a familiar womb of French horns, glockenspiels, and harpsichords that ensure that their vaguely melancholic notions...never edge into despair....a bracing form of madness..." Q (11/99, p.124) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...a seductive album that combines the group's trademark glowing strings and layered keyboards with Stereloab's innovative use of new and old instruments..." Mojo (11/99, p.109) - "...the melodies are often charmers which deserve and reward perseverance....SNOWBUG often enthralls....Fastidious and enjoyable..." Alternative Press (12/99, p.101) - 3 out of 5 - "...a very soothing, loungey mood....When the setting is right, you'll gently sway to the cool, breezy, sophisticated pop, unconsciously inhaling the sweet noise that fills a room like a single clove cigarette..." Magnet (1-2/00, p.73) - "...[They've] moved on to greener (and more creative) pastures. Adding Stereolab singers Mary Hansen and Laetitia Sadier...as gentle contrast to [Sean] O'Hagan's uncomplicated vocals seems like a...good idea....gentler and more pastoral....opening new doors..." The Wire (1/00, p.94) - "...Easy on the ear, SNOWBUG is an unassuming collection of vibrantly played pop confections, exquisitely and intelligently composed, with a cool twist of eccentricity lightly squeezed over them..."

The fifth High Llamas record, SNOWBUG, continues main-man Sean O'Hagan's fascination with--and focus on--highly orchestrated, intricately detailed, and spectacularly clean '60s-revisionist pop music. Polished to a shiny gleam, each track reflects brightly, suggesting everything good that you remember from the summers of your childhood. This record, as with most Llamas records, features assistance from various members of Stereolab, and this one additionally features a number of Chicago's finest--the infamous Sea & Cake and Tortoise nexus--involved mainly from the production side.
The most successful tracks are the loosest-feeling ones, the understated, xylophone-driven instrumental, "Hoops Holiday"; the percolating "The American Scene"; and "Amin", which opens with a deceptively free-form jam. "Cookie Bay" is a bright, busy track that sounds a bit like a dizzy mixture Saint Etienne, Hello Kitty, and really fizzy fruit punch. Oddly enough, the less-than-a-minute "Dalton's Star" is one of the standouts, featuring a dense mixture of roller-rink keyboards, horns, and wiggly wristed cowbell (?) percussion. And if "Cut the Green Coaster" doesn't make you smile, well, maybe you ought to see a doctor. SNOWBUG makes a good introduction to O'Hagan's work with the Llamas, and will undoubtedly set you off running to the store to buy more.|