Beet, Maize & Corn
Released
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Beet, Maize & Corn is one of The High Llamas’ most quietly radical albums. It’s defined by its autumnal cast, and the minimalism of many of the arrangements — songwriter and arranger Sean O’Hagan seemed to be aiming for a chamber sensibility here, with some nods to pre-sixties popular music, and the wry, playful songs of Carla Bley and Robert Wyatt. If that makes the songs sound like a suite of studies, well, O’Hagan is a considered artisan, but things never feel stuffy or over-intellectualised — and on songs like “High on the Chalk” and “Calloway,” the combination of O’Hagan’s keening voice and the near-abstract, modular arrangements is quite moving.