With their self-titled debut EP, Baby Condor arrive fully formed, offering a six-track collection steeped in melody, analogue warmth, and patient craftsmanship. Led by the gently aching single “Dreaming of the Day,” the record unfolds like a slow drive through fading light, nostalgic without becoming sentimental, and reflective without losing its sense of quiet optimism.
The project marks a significant turning point for Dutch brothers Nolle and Beinte Groen, who, after more than two decades of making music together, have finally created something deeply personal under their own name. Recorded largely in their self-built Mermaid Studio, a converted shed turned creative sanctuary, the EP embraces a hands-on philosophy where performance, arrangement, and atmosphere carry equal weight. The result feels intimate yet expansive, rooted in tradition but never trapped by it.
Musically, Baby Condor draws from a wide lineage of songwriting. Echoes of classic pop and folk craftsmanship sit comfortably alongside soulful textures and cinematic arrangements, with shades of the Great American Songbook blending into more modern influences. Real instruments and live takes give the record an organic pulse, while carefully layered harmonies and orchestral touches create a sense of depth that rewards repeated listening.
“Dreaming of the Day” stands as the emotional centrepiece. Dreamlike and restrained, the track reflects on relationships that quietly drift from intensity into routine, holding onto the fragile hope that connection can still be revived. It captures the EP’s central theme: the tension between memory and the present, and the uncertainty of what remains when the initial spark fades.
Elsewhere, Backcountry Towns opens with sunlit warmth and gentle introspection, encouraging a return to simplicity and human connection. Seventeen moves through coming-of-age reflections with a cinematic sweep, while Lifetime Come & Gone leans into existential questions, its rich arrangements lending the song an almost spiritual stillness. Saw You in a Song shifts the mood with blues-inflected grit, confronting disillusionment and emotional clarity, before closing track Silver Stereo delivers a heartfelt statement on music itself, both a critique of commodification and a celebration of sound as art and memory.
What makes Baby Condor’s debut compelling is its sincerity. Nothing feels rushed or overly polished; instead, the EP values atmosphere, space, and emotional honesty. It’s a record built on the belief that songs should linger rather than impress, and that craft still matters. In an era dominated by speed and algorithmic trends, Baby Condor offers something refreshingly human music made slowly, thoughtfully, and with soul.
Buy their limited-run vinyl pressing here
