Fri 2 Feb 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: SUBTER.COM

'The Bride wore Blues' - LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES review by Houman Sadri

I don’t do record reviews. I’ve been contributing to this august organ for the better part of two years now, and in that time have been known to rail against the state of the music industry – even to the point of once begging readers to acquire some taste from somewhere, anywhere. Still, I don’t write record reviews. There’s not enough out there that moves me to effusive praise and – contrary to popular belief – I don’t actually enjoy writing negative notices. Don’t get me wrong; decent records are released every week. I’m no doom monger prophesising the end of popular music as we know and cherish it. I don’t believe that we are necessarily in a comparative dry period right now. It’s just that I’m not that interested in albums that aren’t bad, or are quite enjoyable. I’m after a good, old-fashioned rock n’ roll hero, and those are fairly thin on the ground these days – too much flash and media savvy, not enough substance. Well, thank God for Mark Pearson and Morning Bride.


Pearson remembers that Rock music is a heady concoction distilled from Blues, Country, Folk, R&B and something indefinably other. As a result, his band sound at once steeped in tradition and wholly unlike anything else. Much of the credit for this can be given to singer Amity Dunn, an urban, elfin melange of Emmylou Harris and faerie queen, her voice at once fey and steely like a switchblade wrapped in a kiss. In her hands, lines such as:

It’s the first of January, a day for friends and lovers
They’re already saying ‘she never really recovered’
If I’m written out so quickly, let me give you my consent
Keep this signature forever, now I don’t need a name

from the standout Zero One Zero One are rendered almost overwhelmingly heartbreaking, removing the song from the realm of the merely impressive and depositing it on a pedestal all its own. Still more impressive is the juxtaposition of her voice with Pearson’s Cash-esque drawl. Their ability to harmonise in ever-more inventive permutations allows repeated listens to reward in ways that most records tend not to anymore – one keeps discovering and being charmed by new magic.


On top of this, the fact that the band includes a cellist, recent addition Alexa, takes their sound still further from the realms of the traditional. The rhythm section is beefy, the guitar work authentically marinated in Southern Blues and Americana, but the cello – especially when offset against that voice – puts a dreamlike spin on songs that were already for the most part swooningly romantic. Theirs is a world where the memory of love forces one to see stars and step out in front of cars, where home is the touch of a lover’s hand, a world of lost souls and the ends of worlds reflected in a teardrop. The headiness of all this is complemented perfectly by the ethereality of the package in which the words are wrapped, and as such it’s perfect.


This isn’t to say that the record is in some way impenetrable. This band have a knack for a hook that would make most songwriters weep: I challenge you to listen to new single Time Delay, former single Isabelline or splendid closer Mother Hackney (more on this later) and not find them irrevocably stuck in your head afterwards. These are all good songs plain and simple: no padding, no extraneous noodling. In fact it’s telling that the album consists of just nine tracks and runs for a little over half an hour: most records tend to be too long to hold the attention nowadays and in a way this is a throwback to a simpler era, as is the fact that the record was recorded live in the studio using analogue equipment. This band does not need auto-tune or Pro-Tools. Neither does it need to pad out a thin oeuvre with dull material. For this we should applaud them.

They also have a sense of humour. Closing Country-Blues stomper Mother Hackney is not only a rueful tribute to the London borough in question (and indeed home of the Lea Valley of the excellent album title), but also chock-full of enough truly awful puns to warm the heart of any aficionado of tenuous wordplay. In fact, one pun in particular (I shan’t ruin it by saying which one, but it involves the name of a particular part of Hackney and a set of handcuffs) made me laugh out loud and applaud when I heard it! As a former inmate of that at once bleak and bohemian part of England the song made me homesick, and I’m not sure I have the words to describe how unlikely I would have thought that would have been beforehand.


So I write these words as a service to you, dear readers. You are, of course, good good people and as such deserve only the very best. Morning Bride is the very best. You deserve to own this wonderful album. Go buy it as soon as you can. No need to thank me: as I say, you deserve it.

Tue 3 Jun 2008
live preview - Bonanza
Source: Bonanza

Fri 9 May 2008
LIVE REVIEW
Source: THE INDEPENDENT

Wed 5 Mar 2008
GREETINGS FROM ABNEY PARK, N16
Source: PLAN B MAGAZINE

Tue 4 Mar 2008
PLAN B LIVE REVIEW, FEB 2008 ISSUE
Source: PLAN B MAGAZINE

Fri 1 Feb 2008
Live
Source: ALTER STATES

Tue 11 Dec 2007
Live at Hot Burrito, Newport, Wales
Source: soundsnew.com

Wed 7 Nov 2007
live review

Mon 15 Oct 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: HERE COMES THE FLOOD webzine

Mon 8 Oct 2007
LIVE AT THE FAVERSHAM, LEEDS 2007
Source: RAWKSTAR.NET

Tue 2 Oct 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: 17 SECONDS webzine

Mon 1 Oct 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES - ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Source: soundsnew.com

Sat 18 Aug 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: NOIZE MAKES ENEMIES webzine

Fri 17 Aug 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: NET RHYTHMS webzine

Sat 14 Jul 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: THE WORD MAGAZINE

Wed 6 Jun 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: Song, by Toad webzine

Wed 23 May 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: SOUNDSXP.COM

Mon 21 May 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: PICCADILLY RECORDS

Mon 7 May 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: AMERICANA UK

Thu 19 Apr 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: ROCK N REEL MAGAZINE

Sun 1 Apr 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: N16 MAGAZINE

Mon 5 Mar 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: PLAN B MAGAZINE

Sun 4 Mar 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: FREQUENCY ONLINE

Thu 1 Mar 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: ORGAN MAGAZINE

Fri 2 Feb 2007
LEA VALLEY DELTA BLUES
Source: SUBTER.COM

Mon 29 Jan 2007
'TIME DELAY'
Source: Partly Porpoise ezine

Sun 28 Jan 2007
'TIME DELAY'
Source: indie-mp3.co.uk

Thu 11 Jan 2007
LIVE AT ALTER STATES, December 2006
Source: americana UK

Wed 15 Nov 2006
interview with mark
Source: antivirus review

Wed 15 Mar 2006
interview with mark
Source: essex chronicle

Mon 20 Feb 2006
LIVE AT WHAT'S COOKIN', 1st february 2006
Source: artrocker magazine

Fri 13 Jan 2006
live preview
Source: the gilded palace of sin

Tue 10 Jan 2006
'ISABELLINE' / 'REPLICA' by rob barnett
Source: music-news.com

Wed 14 Dec 2005
DEBUT SINGLE LAUNCH PARTY, 12th november 2005
Source: frequency

Mon 5 Dec 2005
LIVE AT RYAN'S BAR, 25th november 2005
Source: music-news.com

Thu 10 Nov 2005
'ISABELLINE' / 'REPLICA' by Richard Fontenoy
Source: N16 magazine

Wed 10 Aug 2005
LIVE AT THE SPITZ 18th july 2005
Source: spitz website

Mon 25 Jul 2005
LIVE AT THE SPITZ, 18th july 2005 by Lilly Novak
Source: Frequency