Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

Her Name Is Calla

Condor And River

Label: Loom Release Date: 02/07/2007

24882
domgourlay by Dom Gourlay June 21st, 2007

Rarely has a piece of music actually sounded so idyllic for a setting far beyond your wildest imagination.

Although it clocks in at 18-minutes long, don’t be put off by 'Condor And River'. It is, quite simply, a breathtaking journey. We begin by a deserted roadside, probably somewhere in the Rutland countryside, that runs and hides at various intervals through a maze of trees and undergrowth, before arriving at its tragic end in shallow waters several miles later.

"They found your clothes by a lake," utters Tom Morris some seven minutes into the already haunting overture of guitar and percussion, struggling to retell the harrowing story that envelopes 'Condor And River' from beginning to end.

Musically you could say this is somewhere between the vast historical landscapes of iLiKETRAiNS and the organic simplicity of Shady Bard, yet all the time there is an overtly sinister edge that suggests something life-changing (or should that be ending?) is about to take control at any second. Almost like the incidental music to a short narrative about one man's struggle and ultimate failure for survival, in fact.

Whatever the inspiration for this, it sure as hell makes listening to straightforward three-minute trad-pop songs impossible afterwards, and simply begs the question: why can't all artists be as ambitiously prophetic as this?

  • 8
    Dom Gourlay's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees



Left-arrow

Yucatan

Yucatan

Mobback
24994
25038

Moveover

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Takeover


    The Winner Takes It All

  • 50972

    Takeover


    10 Things To Not Expect Your Record Producer To...

  • 93724
  • review


    The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium

  • 4317

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578

    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • news


    Our Independent music filled alternative to New...

  • 104374
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND