{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox album | name = Hey Panda | type = studio | artist = the High Llamas | cover = The High Llamas - Hey Panda.png | alt = A drawing of a panda on all fours standing against a yellow background, with its shadow casting the words "Hey Panda", with "High Llamas" below it on the bottom orange half of the image | released = {{Start date|2024|03|29|df=y}} | recorded = | studio = | genre = <!-- Please source genres --> | length = 39:50 | label = Drag City | producer = Sean O'Hagan<!-- Per Tidal --> | prev_title = Here Come the Rattling Trees | prev_year = 2016 | next_title = | next_year = | misc = }} '''''Hey Panda''''' is the eleventh studio album by the Anglo-Irish avant-pop band the High Llamas, released on 29 March 2024 through Drag City. It is the band's first album in eight years, since the release of ''Here Come the Rattling Trees'' in 2016.
==Critical reception== {{Music ratings | MC = 87/100<ref name="MC">{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/hey-panda/the-high-llamas|title=''Hey Panda'' by The High Llamas Reviews and Tracks|website=Metacritic|access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> | rev1 = ''AllMusic'' | rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="AM">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hey-panda-mw0004158763|title=Hey Panda Review|website=AllMusic|last=Sendra|first=Tim|access-date=31 March 2024}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Mojo'' | rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Mojo">{{cite magazine|title=The High Llamas – ''Hey Panda''|magazine=Uncut|page=84|date=May 2024}}</ref> | rev3 = ''MusicOMH'' | rev3score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="OMH">{{cite web|url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/the-high-llamas-hey-panda|title=The High Llamas – ''Hey Panda'' {{!}} Album Reviews|website=MusicOMH|last=Johnson|first=Steven|date=27 March 2024|access-date=28 March 2024}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Uncut'' | rev4score = 9/10<ref name="Uncut">{{cite magazine|title=The High Llamas – ''Hey Panda''|magazine=Uncut|page=29|date=March 2024}}</ref> }} ''Hey Panda'' received a score of 87 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on eight critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref name="MC"/> ''Uncut'' called it "beautifully now",<ref name="Uncut"/> while ''Mojo'' wrote that it "may seem whimsical at first, but its depth is all the grander for the work it takes to mine its many gems".<ref name="Mojo"/> ''MusicOMH''{{'}}s Steven Johnson stated that ''Hey Panda'' "reinforces the view that O'Hagan is a special composer and bandleader of note. It sees him push himself creatively further than he's ever done to date, delivering a unique, fascinating, compelling album in the process".<ref name="OMH"/>
Ryan Dillon of ''Glide Magazine'' felt that "these twelve songs carry the weight of time as it feels like we are reintroduced to the band despite their storied tenure as pop's most unpredictable offering strikes again with ambitious concepts executed to the highest order".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://glidemagazine.com/300236/the-high-llamas-tackle-the-art-of-sonic-dynamics-on-nuanced-hey-panda-album-review/|title=The High Llamas Tackle the Art of Sonic Dynamics On Nuanced ''Hey Panda'' (Album Review)|magazine=Glide Magazine|last=Dillon|first=Ryan|date=27 March 2024|access-date=28 March 2024}}</ref>
===Year-end lists=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |+ Select year-end rankings for ''Hey Panda'' ! scope="col"| Publication/critic ! scope="col"| Accolade ! scope="col"| Rank ! scope="col" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |- ! scope="row" |''Uncut'' | 80 Best Albums of 2024 | style="text-align: center;" |23 | style="text-align: center;" |<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearis |first=Bill |date=November 8, 2024 |title=List Season comes early with Uncut's Top 80 Albums of 2024 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/list-season-comes-early-with-uncuts-to-80-albums-of-2024/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |website=brooklynvegan.com}}</ref> |}
==Track listing== {{Track listing | headline = ''Hey Panda'' track listing | all_lyrics = Sean O'Hagan, except "How the West Was Won" with lyrics by Will Oldham | all_music = O'Hagan.
| title1 = Hey Panda | length1 = 3:32 | title2 = Fall Off the Mountain | length2 = 2:41 | title3 = Bade Amey | length3 = 3:04 | title4 = Sisters Friends | note4 = featuring Rae Morris | length4 = 3:24 | title5 = How the Best Was Won | note5 = featuring Bonnie "Prince" Billy | length5 = 2:59 | title6 = The Grade | length6 = 3:09 | title7 = Yoga Goat | length7 = 2:53 | title8 = Stone Cold Slow | length8 = 3:16 | title9 = Toriafan | length9 = 3:21 | title10 = Hungriest Man | note10 = featuring Bonnie "Prince" Billy | length10 = 5:01 | title11 = The Water Moves | length11 = 2:48 | title12 = La Masse | note12 = featuring Fryars | length12 = 3:42
| total_length = 39:50 }}
==Personnel== <!-- Per liner notes, except production credit per Tidal --> '''The High Llamas''' * Sean O'Hagan – vocals, pianos, synthesizers, guitars, bass, synthesizer programming, arrangements, production, mixing, cover painting * Jon Fell – bass on "The Grade" and "Stone Cold Slow" * Marcus Holdaway - vocals on "Stone Cold Slow" * Rob Allum – drums, percussion
'''Additional contributors''' * Fryars – mixing, programming and vocals on "Hay Panda" and "The Grade" * Livvy O'Hagan – vocals on "Hey Panda", "Fall Off the Mountain", and "The Grade" * Rae Morris – lead vocals on "Sisters Friends" * Bonnie "Prince" Billy – vocals on "How the West Was Won" * Andy Ramsay – drum recording * Dan Osborn – layout
==Charts== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Chart performance for ''Hey Panda'' ! scope="col"| Chart (2024) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- {{album chart|UKDigital|64|date=20240405|rowheader=true|access-date=6 April 2024}} |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{The High Llamas}} {{Authority control}}
Category:2024 albums Category:Drag City (record label) albums Category:The High Llamas albums