Her Name Is Calla – Long Grass EP [Denovali Records]

Epic and emotional folk drenched post-rock from the Leeds band Her Name Is Calla. I bumped into this band via the wonderful Worriedaboutsatan who led me to them with a gentle nudge and before I knew it the subtle sounds of Her Name Is Calla really got under my skin, they also happen to be on tour with each other pretty soon. The ‘Long Grass EP’ is out now on Denovali Records and is the pre-cursor to the forthcoming album ‘The Quiet Lamb’. This EP concentrates on their quieter side; they unleash three dynamic tracks that seem to build from a whisper into grand emotional soundscapes.

The title track, ‘Long Grass’ opens proceedings with an icy plucked melody and a lonely hushed vocal and it all starts to build layer upon subtle layer with sparse elements playing off each other. It’s the subdued/prolonged crashes that accent the gentle shifting elements that tug on your heartstrings, especially when the orchestral parts feed in it’s the soundtrack to a long walk in the wilderness, alone... ‘A Sleeper’ is a happier number: it’s got a community vibe where they all come together to sing gang vocals and clap, in a manner that reminds me of a skeletal Broken Social Scene line-up if they where ghosts and from the UK. It’s a really full, orchestral track that builds with ease before disappearing: A delicately uplifting track. The final song, ‘The White And The Skin’ takes acoustic melodies and subtle melodic droning brass to create an otherworldly backing to the vocals. The vocals go from hushed, loner to something with a restrained bombast before the backing vocals usher in a calm, which is soon broken by the passionate ending.

Her Name Is Calla echo that time of the year when the winter isn’t quite over yet and glimpses of spring keep appearing just to be taken out by a random frost, at least they do on the ‘Long Grass EP’ and I mean that in a good way too. They somehow balance cold subdued elements with warm comforting ones to grate effect. It’s a brooding, at times dark and even ghostly. It’s a set of songs that has a delicate and beautiful feeling to it, plus the acoustic instruments really gives them a warm comforting sound that lifts the mood of the songs from being too melancholy and makes them rather touching instead.



Order: http://denovali.com/hernameiscalla/

Info: http://www.hernameiscalla.co.uk/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/hernameiscalla

Don’t forget the Tour with Worriedaboutsatan…
UK TOUR DATES - MARCH 2010
27 - Glasgow | The Flying Duck
28 - Newcastle | The Cluny*
29 - Leeds| Holy Trinity Church
30 - Leicester | Firebug
31 - London | The Lexington
*Her Name is Calla only