Snowbug

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Snowbug
Studio album by
the High Llamas
Released1999
GenrePop
LabelAlpaca/V2[1]
ProducerThe High Llamas
The High Llamas chronology
Lollo Rosso
(1998) 		Snowbug
(1999) 		Buzzle Bee
(2000)

Snowbug is an album by the Anglo-Irish band the High Llamas, released in 1999.[2][3] It was a commercial failure.[4]

The album's first single was "Cookie Bay".[5]

Production[edit]

The album was produced by the High Llamas, and engineered by John McEntire.[6] Mary Hansen and Laetitia Sadier sang on "Cookie Bay".[7] Unlike previous albums, Snowbug was mainly improvised in the studio, with frontman Sean O'Hagan deciding to sing on fewer tracks.[8][9] O'Hagan also decided to mostly steer away from electronic sounds in favor of acoustic ones.[10]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Dayton Daily NewsA[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]
Orange County RegisterB+[13]
Pitchfork5.8/10[14]

Salon wrote that "the album's crystalline production and understated mid-tempo gait make it a near Adult Contemporary exercise in musical pleasantry, but the studied sweep of its craftsmanship clearly has other, more ambitious designs."[15] The Birmingham Post thought that "if there's a chink in the Lamas' armour it's O'Hagan's fragile, insubstantial vocals which frequently fail to do justice to his elaborate Brian Wilsonesque arrangements."[8] The Orange County Register stated that the "recycling is so beguiling."[13]

The Herald opined that, "in 'Cut The Dummy Loose', the band may have recorded the theme for a kids' TV show so weird that only David Lynch could film it."[16] The Guardian concluded that "the chief problem with this electroid whimsy, however, isn't that it doesn't come from the heart; it's that it doesn't make any discernible attempt to reach it."[17] The Chicago Tribune determined that Snowbug "plays like a batch of singles instead of a suite, making it not only a perfect introduction, but a solid disc of individual, well-constructed ideas."[18]

AllMusic wrote that, "at one point, there was charm and invention to his music, even if it was merely an homage, but now that it's become the patented High Llamas sound, it's clear that he's boxed himself into a corner, and worse, he doesn't seem that concerned about it."[11]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Bach Ze" 
2."Harpers Romo" 
3."Hoops Hooley" 
4."Cookie Bay" 
5."Triads" 
6."The American Scene" 
7."Go to Montecito" 
8."Janet Jangle" 
9."Amin" 
10."Daltons Star" 
11."Cotton to the Bell" 
12."Green Coaster" 
13."Cut the Dummy Loose" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ "High Llamas". Trouser Press. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  2. ^ "The High Llamas Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ "A Certain Wimpy Charm". MTV News.
  4. ^ Buckley, Peter (8 February 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050.
  5. ^ "The High Llamas: Cookie Bay". Music Week. 4 September 1999. p. 20.
  6. ^ "Cookie Crew". NME. 22 June 1999.
  7. ^ "Review". SF Weekly. 3 November 1999.
  8. ^ a b Evans, Simon (16 October 1999). "The High Llamas Snowbug". Birmingham Post. p. 6.
  9. ^ a b Underwood, Bob (7 January 2000). "Recordings in Review". Go!. Dayton Daily News. p. 21.
  10. ^ Heaney, Mick (24 October 1999). "Llamas pop out – Interview". Features. The Sunday Times. p. 8.
  11. ^ a b "Snowbug". AllMusic.
  12. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 282.
  13. ^ a b Wener, Ben (29 October 1999). "The Quick Hit". Orange County Register. p. F55.
  14. ^ "Snowbug". Pitchfork.
  15. ^ Battaglia, Andy (3 November 1999). "Sharps & Flats". Salon.
  16. ^ Belcher, David (21 October 1999). "Snowbug, The High Llamas". The Herald. p. 16.
  17. ^ Cox, Tom (22 October 1999). "Music: Pop CD Releases". Friday. The Guardian. p. 17:1.
  18. ^ Hedblade, Jay (14 November 1999). "Recordings". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.6.
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