Hawaii

by The High Llamas

Hawaii cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 25 March 1996
  • Label: Alpaca Park
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Length: 1:16:40
  • Community rating: 3.51/5 from 2 ratings

Artists on this release: Sally Herbert, Rob Allum, Jayne Spencer, Andy Gibson, Steve Waterman, Jon Fell, Anne Woods, Mark Lockheart, Colin Crawley, Amanda Drummond, John Bennett

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Sean O'Hagan meticulously orchestrated an incredibly dense, sunny homage to the most ambitious studio pop of the late 1960s, heavily echoing the mythologized Beach Boys project 'Smile'. The sprawling, deeply layered arrangements utilize banjos, strings, and complex vocal harmonies to construct an elaborate, retro-futuristic Americana concept. The obsessively crafted record stands as an ambitious masterpiece of the 1990s chamber-pop revival.

Genres

Descriptors: melodic, conceptual, wall-of-sound, british, orchestral

Tracklist

  1. Cuckoo Casino (0:55)
  2. Sparkle Up (4:54)
  3. Literature Is Fluff (4:58)
  4. Nomads (4:03)
  5. Snapshot Pioneer (0:34)
  6. Ill-fitting Suits (3:40)
  7. Recent Orienteering (0:44)
  8. The Hot Revivalist (4:40)
  9. Phoney Racehorse (0:23)
  10. Dressing Up The Old Dakota (4:37)
  11. D.C. 8 (0:25)
  12. Doo-Wop Property (4:56)
  13. Theatreland (2:21)
  14. A Friendly Pioneer (0:37)
  15. Cuckoo's Out (4:17)
  16. Peppy (4:45)
  17. There's Nobody Home (0:59)
  18. The Hokey Curator (1:59)
  19. Campers In Control (4:06)
  20. Double Drift (0:37)
  21. Island People (3:12)
  22. Incidentally N.E.O. (2:16)
  23. Tides (3:43)
  24. Nomad Strings (0:34)
  25. Pilgrims (3:21)
  26. Rustic Vespa (0:31)
  27. Folly Time (1:58)
  28. Hawaiian Smile (2:48)
  29. Instrumental Suits (3:47)

Credits

  • The High Llamas - primary artist
  • Andy Robinson - arranged by [brass], trombone, tuba
  • Marcus Holdaway - arranged by [strings], upright piano, vibraphone [vibes], clavinet, harpsichord, harmonium, organ [vox], backing vocals, cello
  • Jon Fell - bass, bass [rollie bass]
  • Rob Allum - drums, percussion, bells, percussion [rustic rattles], percussion [amasya drumming]
  • John Bennett - guitar, lap steel guitar, guitar [dulci guitar], backing vocals
  • Kev Hopper - painting [cover paintings]
  • Colin Crawley - tenor saxophone, flute

More from The High Llamas: full discography