LLAMA
Close To The Silence (MCA)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

---

The former Dahlia Llamas have shortened their name for their major label debut, an eleven track collection of jammy pop that seems aimed at putting them head to head with the Dave Matthews Band. If that's the ground they want to stake a claim for, they seem pretty well situated to capture a chunk of it.

Still in their teens, the band has been together long enough to have developed a following, touring out of their Nashville base, encouraging the audience tapers and traders and polishing their songs down to the finely crafted collection that appears on Close To The Silence. While the live audiences might expect, and surely receive, more extended and improvisational doses of the Llama sound, the band is wise enough to respect the needs of radio programmers and has given them plenty to choose from. They might be the next act to break out of the jam band scene in a major commercial way. That would be good for all that follow them on that course, because this release proves that there's no real barrier between a great live band and a radio ready recording act, if the musicians have a commitment to meeting their audiences in both forums.

On the other hand, there are a lot of debut albums every year. A lot of them are this good, or close to it. Some of them never make it. I hope that doesn't happen here, but just in case, get a copy of your very own. They're either going to be huge, and you can say you were among the first, or they won't, and you'll have one of those great "best album you never heard" items on your shelves. Either way, you'll have a great time listening to the music.

Track List"

Back Where We Began * Three White Cars * Hero * Too Much Too Soon * Close To The Silence * All You Ever Wanted * Fruit * Chasing The Sun * Another Round * Carry Me High * To Believe

© 2001 - Shaun Dale