Man, I'm loving this. I didn't really think to check it out when it leaked or when it officially came out, but I'm glad that I've finally gotten around to it. The first two tracks are some of the best High Llamas songs I've heard.

as far as i know, this is the first time they've used a female vocalist. it's a nice little twist on the formula. overall i don't see the album winning over any new fans, it's just the good ol' high llamas sound.

Oh, it's definitely not the first time. Mary Hansen (of Stereolab) features prominently on Snowbug and at least a few songs on another one or two albums.

It won't be my favorite Llamas since it seems so insubstantial on first listen, but you know ice cream on a summer day is still ice cream even if you like some flavors better than others.

I can't say there's a High Llamas out there that really struck me on my first listen. I guess Snowbug and Gideon Gaye are as close as I've come, but I think their albums tend to have pretty high learning curves in general.