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Her Name Is Calla The Heritage
13 votes
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by Dom Gourlay

Anyone fortunate enough to have got their hands on a copy of either of Her Name Is Calla's last two singles will already be aware that these guys don't conform to any specific rules regarding structure, genre or even what constitutes the basic principles of a song in general.

What you get, as seen in their live shows, is a semi-improvised creation which could start and finish at any point, or just simply carry on until even eternity gets sleepy-eyed.

The story behind The Heritage is a simple one: initially planned as a two-track single ('Nylon' and 'New England'), the sessions overran to the point where both band and record label thought it would be a shame to scrap two-thirds of what was produced. So the pressing plant were given instructions to add three inches of vinyl and four more pieces of music onto the initially proposed product, and The Heritage EP was born. Not that it's all been plain sailing, of course.

During recording, Her Name Is Calla lost a member; they had to get new drummer Adam Weikert up to speed swiftly. Subsequently several overseas distributors have since refused to touch The Heritage, deeming it "too dark and depressing" for the comfort zones of their everyday markets.

As with their previous two releases ('Condor And River' and 'A Moment Of Clarity'), HNIC are aided and abetted here by a host of friends and acquaintances including cellist David Dhonau, The Rosie Taylor Project's Sophie Barnes on trumpet plus Nicole and Rhiannon of The Monroe Transfer adding classical-sounding strings across the whole EP. What this means is that their sound, already hardly unerringly quiet in its delivery, becomes an emphatic maelstrom for the most parts of The Heritage.

The EP is split into six tracks, or pieces of music, that veer from the slow-building ('Nylon') to the epic song-in-three-parts finale of 'Rebirth'; it’s a collection that epitomises Her Name Is Calla's dynamic and unashamedly experimental persona. 'New England', with its chiming intro and submerged funereal coda, still sounds as chilling here as it does live, while 'Motherfucker! It's Alive And It's Bleeding', which combines elements of all the other five songs here amidst Tom Morris' piercing scream of "We're all over the place", is awash with more ideas than most of their contemporaries put together.

While the sheer uneasiness behind the listening context of The Heritage may not be to everyone's taste, there can be no denying that Her Name Is Calla are one of the most daring, unconventional bands the UK has to offer right now. For that alone we should all be exceedingly thankful.

  • Her Name Is Calla 8 / 10
Words: Dom Gourlay

And it sounds like?

Experimental on it's own doesn't really tell me alot.


Oddly enough

Her Name Is Calla don't specifically sound like anyone else. They're possibly the most original band in the UK at this moment in time, which is why we love them.


That's not what I ment really.

I wanted to know HOW they sounded not WHO they sounded like. volcano! don't exactly sound like anyone else but the DiS review of Beautiful Siezure still managed to explain HOW they sounded to me quite well.


Hiya

I've had a go at reviewing it too, if it helps!

Lemme know how it goes, i'm a reviews virgin!


Is this broke?

http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/13343?type=user

this is all a lot harder than i anticipated! ;)


It works, don't worry.

I couldn't find how to get to it before you posted the link.


cool

Computer madness over! That's my first review. I did fancy having a go at vida la vida but I don't know if I have the stomach for it!


Top review!

But I must point out, DiS users; re the 'lost' drummer, that Her Name is Calla's former drummer left the drumstool only of the band, and not of life itself. Just in case you were worrying, Mr Coles is still alive!


Her Name Is Calla

is life, non?


Touché

I don't think he's complaining, I think he's been out in Japan living the crazy rock life this week.


I was fortunate enough to have this on pre-order

so got it a couple of weeks ago. It's excellent stuff, although none of the 'tracks' quite reach the heights of Condor & River or A Moment of Clarity for me it is still a great taster for their debut proper. Bring it on!

By the way, they kicked arse supporting The Twilight Sad last night, even though their set was a mite short. May have to check them out again on 16th July when they support Kyte.


.

nice one Dom


yes come see

them at the brudenell with Glissando and Fran Rodgers too

www.myspace.com/brewrecords


That's July 4th isn't it?

I'm going to see Sennen at the Cockpit that night.


.

we'll play a longer set that night. and the packhorse is more intimate


they are

playing at the packhorse on the 4th and at the brudenell on the 16th with kyte etc


Heard a lot about this band

The Silent Ballet gave it an 8/10 as well I think, think I better check them out.

I like most stuff that Gizeh does anyway, fantastic label.


It's a great thing.

On points of information, I should point out that Nicole, Rhiannon, Neil & Nick (of we, The Monroe Transfer) only played on "New England"; any other string-based noises you can hear are almost certainly courtesy of their own 'cellist, David Dhonau.

It's all gold, though. Hell yeah.


Truly amazing live band

and a damn good mini album thing.

They still havent topped Condor and River but that just seems an impossible task.





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