For the past five years, barmy Irish-born musicologist Sean O'Hagan and his band, the High Llamas, have been pilfering from the catalogs of Steely Dan, Burt Bacharach and – most obviously – the Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys. But after 1997's Hawaii, a near-perfect facsimile of Smile, O'Hagan decided to approach his Brian Wilsonisms from a new angle. With the help of Stereolab keyboardist Andy Ramsey, O'Hagan layered that band's trademark gurgling Moogs and galactic loops into the Llamas' pastoral pop sound.

The procedure couldn't have worked better. The electronic embellishments on Cold and Bouncy (the Llamas' fourth album) help focus their melodies – especially on the serene "Tilting Windmills" – and veer the band away from the mere rock revivalism and occasional aimless wafting that they were prone to in the past. As Brian Wilson once said, "Won, won, wonderful." (RS 779)

JON WIEDERHORN