Name: Here Come The Rattling Trees
Brand: Drag City
SKU: 78295297
Price: 46.97 USD
Availability: InStock

Here Come The Rattling Trees

Rating

Album: Here Come The Rattling Trees
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Prelude	More Info...	0:02
2)	Amy Recalls	More Info...
3)	Here Come the Rattling Trees	More Info...	0:03
4)	Runner Recalls	More Info...
5)	Bramble Underscore	More Info...	0:02
6)	Bramble Black	More Info...	0:01
7)	Mona Underscore	More Info...	0:01
8)	Mona's Song	More Info...	0:01
9)	Decorator Recalls	More Info...
10)	McKain Underscore	More Info...
11)	McKain James	More Info...	0:02
12)	Plumber Recalls	More Info...
13)	Livorno Underscore	More Info...
14)	Livorno	More Info...	0:02
15)	Jackie Underscore	More Info...	0:03
16)	Jackie	More Info...	0:03

Album: Here Come The Rattling Trees
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Prelude	More Info...	0:02
2)	Amy Recalls	More Info...
3)	Here Come the Rattling Trees	More Info...	0:03
4)	Runner Recalls	More Info...
5)	Bramble Underscore	More Info...	0:02
6)	Bramble Black	More Info...	0:01
7)	Mona Underscore	More Info...	0:01
8)	Mona's Song	More Info...	0:01
9)	Decorator Recalls	More Info...
10)	McKain Underscore	More Info...
11)	McKain James	More Info...	0:02
12)	Plumber Recalls	More Info...
13)	Livorno Underscore	More Info...
14)	Livorno	More Info...	0:02
15)	Jackie Underscore	More Info...	0:03
16)	Jackie	More Info...	0:03

Performer Notes

After a career spent making albums that felt like soundtracks, filled with repeating motifs, cinematic banjos, and the kind of cheerful, wistful melodies it was easy to envision someone cuddly like Kermit the Frog or Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivering, Sean O'Hagan and his High Llamas finally broke down in 2014 and wrote a musical of sorts. Inspired by O'Hagan's bicycle rides around his neck of the woods in Southeast London, Here Come the Rattling Trees is a loosely shaped narrative telling the stories of people real and imagined set to some typically sweet and deceptively simple musical backing. The main motif is a chiming bit of sunshine pop featuring harpisichord-esque acoustic guitar plucking and a staccato bassline that would have made Brian Wilson happy. It repeats throughout the album in slight variations, gaining in beauty each time it rolls around. The songs themselves are the usual Llamas fare, with O'Hagan's lovely voice surrounded by clip-clopping percussion, all sorts of warm keyboards, and rich, aged-to-perfection arrangements. The title track is the most arresting of the bunch, sporting a memorable chorus and an almost unbearably autumnal feel. It has a depth of emotion that many Llamas songs don't reach. At times it seemed like O'Hagan was more interested in sound than the feeling underneath, which is a perfectly fine way to operate. On Rattling Trees, he digs a little deeper at times and that works, too. Either way, as long as he and his group crank out songs as immediately hooky and perfectly crafted as "McKain James," a High Llamas album is going to be one worth checking out. Especially if you are a filmmaker looking for someone to score your next cute indie rom-com or pastoral romp. O'Hagan proves here once and for all that he's up to the job. ~ Tim Sendra