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Hawaii is the third studio album by the Anglo-Irish avant-pop band the High Llamas, released on 25 March 1996 on the band's Alpaca Park label. The arrangements of Hawaii incorporate more electronic sounds than its predecessor Gideon Gaye (1994), while its lyrics loosely address themes of nomadism, nostalgia, film and musical theatre, and the effects of colonialism. The record peaked at 62 on the UK Albums Chart for a one-week stay. In the United States, the album was issued with a 40-minute bonus CD containing material that was previously unreleased in that region.
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Reviews
Album Cover: 3/5 (The PowerPoint presentation look of the word Hawaii is really distracting from what could be a cool album cover. But, 1996... That was a thing then... Best Track(s): Sparkle Up, Nomads, Literature is Fluff Overall, the sound and feel of the album are right where I wanted to be today. Smooth, soft and gentle with subtle space-age and sometimes out of place sound-effects. At the end of Sparkle Up I thought we were going to transition into Edgar Winter's Frankenstein. The singing can be awkward, but I kind of like that. It gives the album character. There are certain elements (like the horns) that bring the songs up a notch. Rating: 4/5 This one could - some day, not now, make my list of Top 10 favorite finds (listener albums).
Guess the name The High Llamas is in the ballpark… quite an interesting album with a lot of easy-listening stylings that I really liked! The other reviewer knocked this quite a lot for being a bunch of meandering, which I do get… but it didn’t bother me as much. Fun journey!
Hawaii by The High Llamas is a nice easy tune album. Sometimes it gets a bit too laid back and it's length is really unnecessary. Still some enjoyable happy tunes.
No reason why this album needs to be this long given how meandering and aimless it seems to be. The instrumentation and production are fine, just no interesting ideas or real artistic drive to be found on this LP. Wikipedia says there's an abstract narrative about the US colonization of Hawaii tying the album together, but the gauzy chamber pop here doesn't really lend itself to any seriousness when nothing ever comes into sharp focus.
This is.........well............so darned odd it just kept me listening track after track. Then I read up on them and it made kinda sense- echoes of Microdisney, Stereolab and others I'd heard. Of course! How silly I've been.
weird transitions
Chamber Pop from 1996 Best Tracks: Sparkle Up, Campers in Control 3.75
Chamber pop, orchestral pop, easy listening, lounge. Agradable. Un 4.
Hawaii was alright, pretty chilled laid back rock/prog/electronic stylings without getting annoying, a bit average perhaps but perfectly fine for a nice morning coastal walk. Cuckoo Casino and Recent Orienteering worked best, I've heard worse this week so maybe scrapes a low 3/5.
The post-avant era Beach Boy comparisons seem apt, but this doesn't do so well by that comparison as it certainly doesn't have the singing or orchestration chops. I didn't dislike this, it was interesting, but I don't think it justifies its length.
It was alright
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Nomads
Pleasant enough, but maybe lacking a bit of substance. 3 stars.
It was enjoyable in parts, but if you need more than an hour to showcase your music then maybe it’s not that good….
Enjoyed the Beach Boys influence and the lush, pleasant sound, but ultimately it felt more like background music than an album I wanted to actively listen to. Far too long, and most of it was pretty forgettable. I can appreciate what they were going for, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back to it.
Ass