The High Llamas "Lollo Rosso" 1998

Under the direction of multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and arranger Sean O'Hagan, the High Llamas have developed a very specific sonic fingerprint -- Baroque '60s melodies, sweeping orchestral strings, and warmly bleeping vintage synths all commingled in smooth harmonies -- that helped define the indie sound of the '90s and has proven to be influential to quite a few artists in the decades that followed...
...The group released albums throughout the decade that balanced Steely Dan-styled soft rock songcraft (Gideon Gaye), circular arrangements (Hawaii), and trippy easy listening music (Cold and Bouncy) but never strayed far from O'Hagan's original idiosyncratic template. Later albums did see O'Hagan making some stylistic leaps, such as 2003's mostly acoustic Beet, Maize & Corn and 2016's theatrical Here Come the Rattling Trees. After O'Hagan released his second solo album, 2019's Radum Calls, Radum Calls, the High Llamas returned with Hey Panda in 2024, a recording unexpectedly influenced by mainstream pop and R&B sounds. - J. Scott McClintock
trax:
01 Showstop Hic Hup [remixed by mouse on mars] 02 Homespin Rerun [cornelius remix] 03 Homerun Ubershow [remixed by schneider tm] 04 Mini-Management [remixed by jim o'rourke] 05 The Space Raid Remix [instrumental remixed by kid loco] 06 Reflections in a Plastic Glass [remixed by stock, hausen & walkman] 07 Milting Tindmills [instrumental]