Tom Morris is fanning the same “they found your clothes by a river” leitmotif out on a trumpet, piano, and trombone table. Nine minutes in, we might even mistake what we're hearing for Marillion, but actually, this is Her Name is Calla's Condor and River trying to jump-start your emotions.

For an 18 minute piece of music, Condor and River manages to blend as many convoluted and different sounds as one can imagine, resulting in charming songs that augment under a pressure of harmonica. This UK experimental prog band grasps our attention by carrying us up and down and back and forth through the musical plane, blooming into a zen oasis then exploding in anger. While the climax depletes around the 6 minute mark, “Condor” succeeds in recycling itself, offering a somewhat endless encore, the rear view of an idyllic landscape.

Nevertheless, while listening to the record you might get the perpetual sensation that Her Name is Calla are trying to confound their listeners by offering a content-free gift, and while the blissful wrapping paper catches the eye, you eventually reach the “is this all?” rhetorical question after the closing “River” unfurls. All in all, Condor and River’s tranquil harmonies, booming whim, and well-studied simplicity are worth their couple of spins, providing you bear in mind the fact that although pieces seem to be missing from this eclectic puzzle, there is still an elaborate outline to mentally absorb.  

-Diana Sitaru