Talahomi Way

This album seemed to slip past listeners, which was a surprise, given its depth and charm. O’Hagan set Talahomi Way in spring, and there’s certainly something to that, its twelve songs rejuvenating, the album rife with renewal. As with all High Llamas albums, there are moments where you can hear O’Hagan’s inspirations – the flicker of nylon string bossa on “Wander, Jack Wander,” for example, or stomping R&B on “Fly Baby, Fly” – but they’re quickly subsumed into the High Llamas world. Dropped in amongst all of this, unexpectedly yet wonderfully, is O’Hagan’s finest song yet, “The Ring of Gold”; few write with such gentle inspiration, such unassuming craft, with such generosity of emotion and humanity in performance.