The High Llamas – Talahomi Way 7.2

                  Sean O’Hagan’s project is one of those things I always enjoy. There are a number of reasons for this, the clean execution, mellow vibe, or the extreme Anglophile nature of the project itself. When I hear them, I think of what Brian Wilson might have written about had he been British.

                “Talahomi Way” continues with the more acoustic nature they’ve started since “Beet Maize & Corn” and followed through on “Can Cladders”. Basically, this is the logical progression of both of those two albums. Songs on here are memorable while providing enough space to focus on some of the gorgeous melodies Sean so effortlessly creates.

                What makes Talahomi Way so enjoyable is how easy it feels. Each one of these songs is carefully crafted, the horns put in the right moment. Had Stereolab decided to follow up on an acoustic version of their sound it would probably sound like this album.

                From the opener “Berry Adams” it gives off the right mood of lounge and dreaminess. The vocals are positively sweet and the bass surprisingly playful. “Talahomi Way” goes over their favorite subject of travel. Most of their songs focus on the idea of going or being elsewhere and this album is no exception.

                Plenty of bands change their direction countless times, constantly redefining their focus. The High Llamas are not one of those bands. Instead, they constantly focus on honing out a very specific niche of sound. And they continuously do it well, this just happens to be one of their better albums.

Toro Y Moi – Underneath the Pine 8.8

            

                You know all that side chain compression he used for the last album “Causers of This”? Well, that’s gone. What you get now is pure organic, airy-sounding music. Each instrument is fully distinguishable. Few samples were used in the recording either. Instead, he’s moved away from the dictionary definition of chillwave. It is still chill music, but just clearer, more direct, and with a funkier sense of being. Even as rumors came out about this album, he released live takes of his pre-existing songs, showing off a talent lacked by many of his contemporaries from the South Carolina scene.

                If Chaz Bundick was responsible for chillwave’s increasing popularity and inspiration, I have a fairly good idea of what will happen upon this part of his career. Finally, the thing I thought would never happen has happened: Stereolab 60s French Pop worship will become an actual popular genre, just like I hoped. There’s a very distinguishable influence of theirs you can feel on some of these songs, particularly “Go With You” and “Got Blinded” which might have come from their latter-day material with sunny vocals and a driving rhythm. Another song would be one of my favorites “How I Know”. This one shows off his voice, which seems to have grown stronger since his last outing, helping me connect with it a little better. 60s vibes are found throughout the songs, whether it is from latter-day practitioners or true 60s innovators. The vocals give off the same warm feeling you get from the Beach Boys, complete with their same level of wonder.

                It is less compressed or slick. The recordings are surprisingly clear for a guy who used to embrace those murkier sounds like those found on his last outing. Plus, looking at the track lengths, he’s grown accustomed to working in larger formats. “Elisa” clocks in at 6 minutes, an amount of time where he usually could stuff in 2-3 songs, and ends the album in a grand fashion. Having the songs stretch out allows him to explore a few little flourishes of piano or vocal experiments that would be unwieldy in shorter songs, like the vocal panning in “How I Know” halfway in, or towards the end in “New Beat” with the playful keyboard.

                 Overall, this is a big improvement over his last outing. It is less electronic, so that might bother some people. Just keep in mind the album is a bit of a grower, so please give it the proper amount of listens before passing judgment. Summer came early this year I guess.    

Jan Jelinek - Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records 9.3

Rarely does an album combine a concept and listen-ability with such ease. Loop-Finding-Jazz Records is just one of those records. What could have come off as just another “clicks n’ cuts” generic nonsense comes off sounding so positively lush. 

Even with zero previous experience to the whole “clicks n’ cuts”, glitch movement, this is instantly enjoyable. Mixing jazz records with more modern mixing techniques, he creates a warm atmosphere. At no point are you subjected to any loudness, each sound has been edited to perfectly blend in with the environment.  I’m a bit of a sucker for this kind of sound, but it is also very rare for an electronic musician to incorporate multiple music-making aspects. Generally speaking, the kind of promotion he does of both the old and new, in the very ultra-high tech glitch field was treason when this came out in 2001. Back then, that wasn’t so much a thing, and even now, it rarely is done with the class or style that Jan uses here. 

Along with SND, Jan Jelinek made one of those few glitch albums that get better each time I hear it. Obviously the introduction tracks works well, sounding like some Red Norvo track completely blurred into near oblivion. “They, Them” is probably my favorite on here. Building up on the suspense it lets loose and creates probably one of the smoothest moments in German techno (and that’s really saying something). Looking for a favorite on here is pretty hopeless; they all have a certain quiet groove that bridges the gap between dance and lounge. 

I’ve been fortunate enough to see him live once, at Tonic (still my favorite now-closed music venue). Wearing a black and white striped shirt, he looked like a nihilistic Charlie Brown. His dance movements as he hovered over his equipment could only be described as “heavily autistic” and how he handled his liquor was terrible. A very attractive blonde woman had to finally escort him to a waiting Taxi, since he appeared too incoherent to figure out how to walk down a straight hall. Nonetheless, he put on a great show, considering the lackluster nature of live electronic acts. 

Please find this however you can. I highly recommend such a well thought out album, completely perfect and so smooth.