The High Llamas: Cold And Bouncy

High Llamas frontman Sean O'Hagan has never hidden his admiration of the music of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson: His group's output doubles as an extended tribute to the sound of The Beach Boys circa Pet Sounds and Smile, the era in which Wilson was doing his most experimental work. Frankly, The High Llamas' shortcoming is that O'Hagan still seems more inspired by the sounds Wilson produced than by Wilson's spirit of inventiveness and ear for catchy songs. That's not to say Cold And Bouncy isn't an imminently listenable, often fascinatingly rich album, but its songs seem to lack something, even if that something is difficult to pin down. It's not bounce: The album trots along pleasantly enough, and O'Hagan's increased use of electronic noise sets it apart from Hawaii, its tropically flavored predecessor. Maybe it's just that this sort of thing will never be as involving as it is interesting, or as moving as it is creative, albeit within some pretty tight parameters. Still, mimicking Brian Wilson at his peak is trickier business than re-creating, say, glam-era Bowie or the sound of The Rolling Stones in the '60s. There's much of interest here, even if it ultimately feels like there ought to be more.