The Llama Farmers' debut album
Dead Letter Chorus mixes big, grunge-indebted guitars and drums with a subtler sense of melody and songwriting than most British alt-rock bands (Muse, Feeder, and Reef) posess. The group's best songs, like "Always Echoes," "Lull," and "Jessica," blend their Seattle fixation with a healthy dose of jangle-pop, but "Pornoco," "Zorillo," and "PVC" try too hard to rock out like old-school grunge and wind up sounding derivative. Though
Dead Letter Chorus is a mixed bag, it does show potential for the Llama Farmers to develop a more distinctive, personalized sound. ~ Heather Phares