The High Llamas – Cold and Bouncy – Review

The High Llamas

Cold and Bouncy (V2)
by Nik Rainey

Jesus, what an imbalanced world. We spend years waiting for the sequel to Loveless, the new Kubrick movie, or for J.D. Salinger to poke his head out and prophesy how many more years of bad coming-of-age novels we can expect, compounding expectations to the point that they can’t help but disappoint when they finally come to pass; at the same time, there are some things we can’t hope to keep up with, being so ever-lovin’ prolific that we can’t fully grok how good they really are. Take The High Llamas: I’m still trying to digest the full two hours of their last album, Hawaii, the musical equivalent of one of those 72-oz. steaks char-palaces dare you to eat in one sitting. There’s just so much of it that, by the end, I wasn’t sure what bits were Grade-A prime and what was gristle. And now the kitchen doors open and Sean O’Hagan wheels out another course, the cart groaning (as I am) under a fresh batch of deceptively lightweight confections, derived from the same recipes he lifted from Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, and Burt Bacharach, but garnished with a little more electronic seasoning, courtesy of Stereolab’s Andy Ramsey.

And while it may only exacerbate the heartburn of the non-gourmands in the establishment, Cold & Bouncy is both sweeter and more concentrated, the switched-on aspects of which serve to ease up on O’Hagan’s preferred methods of sprawl (while sounding appreciably distinct from his other Ramsey collab, Turn On). Somehow, banjos and bleep-bleeping psyilocybernetics don’t seem as incongruous in tandem as they might on paper. A fine aperitif all around, I’ll say, and perhaps a good appetizer for those just being seated. It does remain to be seen, however, if O’Hagan can truly advance beyond tirelessly imagining what the completed Smile album would’ve sounded like or if he can add more than Pet Sounds to his personal menagerie. Wouldn’t it be nice? God only knows. For now, I’ll just lean back, undo my belt, and call for some coffee. I’m full.