Conory - Long Dark Hallway

Hear The Track Here

Even if I wrote my review rules four miles high in a yellow brighter than ten thousand suns, someone will still leave a link to an audio stream and - as usual I'll watch them wither from inattention. It wasn't quite the case with Alternative artist Conory, but close enough for me to get all bent out of shape. There was only one track on download from his page, and it wasn't the one I'd been asked to review (I Can't Help It), which was still listen only. Needless to say I growled a lot, downloaded the track and determined to ignore the first request and review Long Dark Hallway. Not a good start to a review right enough but when I started to listen to the track I soon decided I may have been a tad hasty.

Not an unknown factor in my life.

Fact is, Long Dark Hallway is an absolutely knockout track and a great song - especially if you like the prog rock tradition which the arrangement most closely resembles. Except there don't appear to be any wild and wooly guitars, an absence instantly noticeable. I think it's the reason why the track made such a big impression on me, because it gave a whole new slant to music that - to be honest - I usually avoid like the plague, Pomp rock/prog rock, I would harumphh spontaneously, it's all the same - big hair, big themes and no brains. Until that is I met some of the more recent versions of the genre, especially Nad Sylvan - which this reminds me of to a huge extent.

Think kinder, softer Nad Sylvan/UniFaun and you'd be close to getting a handle on this track. If it sounds as if I am talking like I am from Uranus, don't be alarmed. What I mean, simply, is that this is an intelligent, melodic and intricate peice of music that will take a while to digest. It's also amazingly good, and a very, very different sound; fresh and entertaining. I did, in fact, listen to I Can't Help It and liked that also for many of the same reasons I liked Long Dark Hallway. If you like Nad (or even Nigel Potter come to that) you will love this track. You may need to give it a few listens for it to really register but I do recommend that you do, the song is sooo worth it. I'm keeping it.

Excellent Alternative, nice twist on an old genre. Highly Recommended.