It's probably critical overkill to point out that
the High Llamas are the prime inheritors of the lush soundscapes that
Brian Wilson and
Burt Bacharach perfected (each in his own way) during the '60s and early '70s. On the other hand, it's also abundantly obvious that the English quartet never seems to tire of mining
Bacharach's hits and
Wilson's masterworks -- namely
Pet Sounds and the
SMiLE album -- for new ideas. Buzzle Bee might just be the group's most out-there production yet, as
the Llamas churn out eight tracks full of gorgeous symphonic pop arrangements and aloof, lazy melodies that dart in and out of all kinds of studio tinkering. If this is, in fact, something
Wilson and
Bacharach would have made, they would have had to have made it while under the influence of some very potent psychedelics. Still, too much of it sounds like background buzz, the sort of stuff that
Wilson rightly left on the cutting room floor during the
Pet Sounds sessions. What would be really interesting is if these guys struck some sort of sitcom-worthy bargain with their heroes:
the Llamas would teach
Wilson and
Bacharach to be hip, if those two would lend
the Llamas some hooks. ~ Christian Hoard