#the high llamas

[bandcampsnoop]

12/26/23.

New releases have slowed to a trickle this time of the year. No worries - fellow Bandcampers have swooped in to save the day by buying music. Over the course of the next few days, I will be posting releases that I "discovered" by poaching others recent purchases.

800 Cherries was a Sapporo, Japan band that reminds me of The High Llamas and BMX Bandits. The Bandcamp write-up mentions Stereolab and others. This was originally issued in 1999, and now KiliKiliVilla (Tokyo, Japan) is reissuing it.

BONUS: Here is a link to a split cassette of two Japanese bands: Keichi & The Coconut Groove and Small Garden.

[radiophd]

the high llamas -- the sun beats down

[drdeejofficial]

The High Llamas are back with some great new music...

[revkilltaker]

Beach Boys – Keepin the Summer Alive - LP - Caribou  Records - FZ 36283

Pressing Stats

Pressing #: 1980 White Label Promo

Color:  Black

Qty Pressed: ???

Additional Info: Other Pressings Available

Track Listing

Keepin' The Summer Alive

Oh Darlin'

Some Of Your Love

Livin' With A Heartache

School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell)

Goin' On

Sunshine

When Girls Get Together

Santa Ana Winds

Endless Harmony

5/10

[dustedmagazine]

The High Llamas— Hey Panda (Drag City)

The soft pop smorgasbord that Irish-English band The High Llamas has offered for three decades continues to sate listeners’ hunger for engaging arrangement-forward music.  Drawing influence from Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, Juan Garcia Esquivel and the early European electronic composers, Sean O’Hagan and his group steered a subset of the 1990s zeitgeist toward baroque-leaning, globally flavored rock music.  A short stint playing keyboards with Stereolab cultivated an interest in analog electronics, as O’Hagan further expanded the band’s sound on classic albums Hawaii and Cold and Bouncy.  Now in his mid-60s, O’Hagan is still exploring the furthest reaches of pop music, citing J Dilla’s abstract productions and SZA’s boom bap resurgence as current influences. With so many colors on his palette, O’Hagan paints his sonic portraits with bold, bright strokes, creating a music that flourishes exponentially year over year, like a hearty clematis vine.

Hey Panda is a rich, meaty stew combining all of O’Hagan’s influences and several sides of his persona: it’s witty, wise, humorous, quirky and adventurous. Often, it’s all these things at the same time. Benjamin Garrett, a.k.a. Fryars, adds a production sensibility that emphasizes the aspects of the band that best suit each song, from the title track’s wobbly, elastic beats to the smooth, soulful groove of “Yoga Goat.” Tracks like “Fall Off the Mountain” are steeped in weirdness, especially when O’Hagan’s voice adopts autotune, vocoder, and even a chipmunk pitch. The offbeat nature of the tune is accentuated by goat bleats and sudden shifts in tone and tempo: the mellow intro belies the neo-disco tune hiding behind it.

Sometimes the fine line between classic O’Hagan and his newer influences are more subtle. Trap beats occasionally grace the lovely “Bade Amey,” while the vocal manipulations on “The Grade” lurk in the background so O’Hagan’s butter smooth serenade can take center stage. Often, his daughter Livvy provides counterpoint, or even jumps to the front to take over. She owns the dancefloor-friendly sections on “Fall Off the Mountain,” for example. Will Oldham, a magnet for all things unorthodox, has co-writing credits on two songs: “How the Best Was Won” and “Hungriest Man” come across as new jack swing played in the Star Wars cantina. Of course, they’re insanely clever tunes delivered without a hint of irony. So too is “Sister Friends,” a ballad sung by Rae Morris overtop a stumbling rhythm and a multitude of interlocking flourishes that seem to fit right into place in the mix. Hey Panda shines with an unnatural glow throughout, yet it’s these collaborative moments that burn brightest (and strangest).        

Bryon Hayes

[jacobwren]

The High Llamas - Hey Panda

[hedgehog-moss]

The great jungle fence of 2023

I'm jealous of my neighbour's extremely lush grass so I want to let my pasture rest for a bit. Which means partitioning it so the animals can't graze one half of it for a while.

Of course, this means telling Pampe she can't go somewhere.

I chose the dividing line carefully. There's a dense jungle-like area in the middle of the pasture that I've never seen the animals try to cross, they go around it, so it can act as a natural fence. I built 2 temporary fences on either side of the jungle to finish cutting the pasture in two. The setup looks like this:

The fenced areas on either side of the jungle are made up of sheep netting, one length planted in the ground, and another above it, attached to tree branches with string (they are also tied to one another), so the fence reaches a height of 2 Pandolf.

I have weighed down the bottom of the fence with heavy branches so the llamas can't crawl underneath. (Before I did that, when the fence was still under construction, Poldine decided to make her mother happy by showing her she'd listened to Pampe's life lessons. Pampe behind her was bursting with pride.)

Finally, in one particularly at-risk area, I made a quadruple fence using 4 lengths of sheep netting + 1 piece of rigid mesh fence, tied to one another and to nearby trees with string. Look at the below pictures. Zoom in. Do you understand this fence? No? Good. Neither will Pampe.

Don't mind me just playing 5D chess with my llama.

There's no way she'll win. For the first time in four years I will be victorious.

Okay, let's get to the point of this post.

(Bonus question, do you think she'll try indiana jonesing her way to freedom or that she'll focus on the fenced areas? Crossing the jungle might be easier but Pampe doesn't like easy, she likes mind games and destruction.)

P.S.1: for people who started following me recently, you might want to check out my llama drama tag to understand who Pampérigouste is.

P.S.2: I don't know if this will factor in your decision, but when I last saw Pampe behind 5 layers of fence she appeared to be smirking.

[ingravinoveritas]

Have you seen this? I head "Michael got excited about being connected through matching bracelets" and immediately thought that you're going to have some thoughts.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeQE7KSk/

Oh my god. No, I hadn't seen this video until now, but thank you SO much for sending it to me! I'll post a clip of the most pertinent part about what Michael said below, but I urge folks to check out the whole thing on Tiktok, as this is the woman who made the bracelets we saw David wearing at the Proud Nerd Con last weekend:

My first immediate reaction after seeing/hearing this was utter disbelief and delight, coupled with a complete lack of surprise because...Michael. If there is anyone who could channel "15-year-old girl during the last week of summer camp" energy, it is Michael. It's also terribly bittersweet and yet somehow fitting knowing that we're nearing the end of Michael's time in London--which I think we can now refer to as Shennant Summer, at least in Australia, though the last six months were technically the winter here.

(My second thought was that I feel like we're a hell of a lot closer than ever before to my imaginings of Michael and David getting complementing tattoos somehow manifesting into reality...)

But...my god. I don't think any of us could picture Michael and David not being connected in some way, even if/when they're not in the same city, and yet the thought of Michael wanting to have some tangible reminder of David with him always is doing things to my heart that may necessitate the use of defibrillators. I feel like this is some kind of reverse Parent Trap situation where Michael is going to "accidentally" pack one of the Tennant kids in his suitcase, which will mean David will have to go to Wales to collect his wayward offspring, and then the next thing you know they're on a yacht drinking Champagne while "I Love You (For Sentimental Reasons)" plays in the background.

I think what is so incredible to me is that we know how soft (in the best way possible) Michael is, but to know that he's specifically gotten that way over David--that he holds David in that deep heart space--is achingly beautiful. I know a lot of folks will say that this is giving all of the "friendship bracelet" and "besties" vibes, but I really don't think it's much of a stretch to think that it could be something more. Everything about this just feels so romantic at this point that, in my opinion, it would seem almost ludicrous to not consider it a possibility. Because right now, neither Michael nor David appear to be holding back, and I'm so here for it.

Thank you again so much for sending this my way. I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks, so please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for writing in! x

[unseenphil]

I think Gubat Banwa may have slightly ruined other tactical RPGs for me.

I still haven't gotten to -play- Gubat Banwa but now when I look at other games I just shake my head sadly at their utter lack of fantasy cavalry options. Opening the list of styles with Busaya Lancers remains just an incredibly strong move that sold the game to me more than anything else.

[mimiedosa]

PAPÁ DRAC?!!, PAPÁ DRAC!!!!!!!!11!!!!! 😭😭🧛🖤🖤🖤

[bandcampsnoop]

4/1/24.

Seriously, has anyone been more prolific than Momus (Nick Currie, originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, and now currently based in Berlin). I feel like I own a lot of Momus, and I probably own less than 20% of his recorded output. I just looked on Discogs and I count 36 full length releases since 1986. And before that Currie recorded an album as The Happy Family (with 3 members of Josef K).

"Yikes" is available from American Patchwork as a double CD. The other CD ("20 Frisky Whiskies") is a "compilation of remakes, outtakes and misshapes from the last decade or so of Momus."

At this point it's safe to say that Momus sounds like Momus. But if you separate yourself from this obvious statement you can hear echoes of David Bowie, Roxy Music, The High Llamas and The Divine Comedy.

You can buy this 2 CD from Darla Records.

[radiophd]

the high llamas -- hiball nova scotia

[windwyrm]

gave Saurf a skaurf

it was a group project

don't even @ me i have receipts

hm

I also have the. more cottage-adjacent receipt version

[fandoms-my-fandoms]

I think it’s time I formally introduce myself to everyone who visits my blog!

I’m Jazmine, y’all can call me Jazz. 🤭

Pronouns: she/her/hers.

Fandoms: see bio.

Current Favorite book: Solitaire by Alice Oseman.

Favorite show(s): New Girl—if you know me in real life, you know that I am like a real life personification of Jessica Day, but currently in college—Heartstopper, Stranger Things, Phineas and Ferb, Bones, Young Royals, First Kill, The Twilight Zone, and Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Current Favorite Film(s): The Breakfast Club/Labyrinth/The Rocky Horror Picture Show/Beauty and the Beast.

Current Favorite Musical(s): Fiddler on the Roof/Phantom of the Opera/Les Miz/Heathers.

Favorite FNAF animatronic: Circus Baby.

Favorite YouTube Series: Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, The Walten Files, Llamas with Hats, and Charlie the Unicorn.

Artists I like (in no particular order): Dodie, Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Queen, The Cure, Darren Criss, Mason Ramsey, girl in red, Katy Perry, Baby Queen, Elvis Presley, Orla Gartland, Johnny Cash, The Black Eyed Peas, Frankie Cosmos, (I know he’s currently canceled but love the art not the artist—Rex Orange County), David Bowie, Conan Gray, and Meghan Trainor.

My asks are open! Please feel free to use those or private message me if you have any questions. Since I’m mostly hyperfixated on all things Heartstopper, that’s what I currently post the most about.

[jt1674]