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

Rootsy rock pop tunes with big fat hooks that on any reasonable planet would be all over your radio.

Morning Bride are a UK based (Hackney) five piece, consisting of two females from the US and three males from the UK. This record was recorded with engineer Ed Deegan who previously worked on the White Stripes ‘Elephant’ and with their pal Holly Golightly. Unsurprisingly, with that pedigree, the album was made with all analogue kit, ignoring all that new fangled digital nonsense.

However that doesn’t mean things are particularly garagey, with crunching dirty riffs and wailing feedback, but it does mean a spontaneous and pleasantly uncluttered feel. What we have here is a rootsy variation on the likes of the Beautiful South, intelligent lyrics laced with both humour and bitterness, some big choruses with major pop hooks, and alternating male and female lead vocals (the majority are female).

Opener ‘This Place Is No Place For Harbouring Angels’ sets out the stall, after a slow start and Amity Joy Dunn’s emotive vocal, a great hooky chorus that sticks in your head like Abba, but in a good way.

‘Replica’ starts with cello and a plucked guitar that sounds vaguely like an update of ‘Groovy Kind Of Love’ or ‘Ruby Tuesday’, this time it’s the male lead vocal of Mark James Pearson (three names seem to be the thing in this band!), before Amity gets to belt out the chorus ‘Bang bang, lay down and play dead!’ calling to mind early Lone Justice; as elsewhere on the record though, the influences don’t dominate - Morning Bride have very much their own identity.

Its not every time that the hooks dig in, but that doesn’t mean the less hooky songs are any less effective. ‘Zero One, Zero One’ is a bitter, angry song telling the story of broken love and regret being contemplated on January 1st: ‘I tore up my wedding dress with your old razor blades’ sings Amity over Alexa Rose Richardson’s affecting cello.

The line ‘it’s the first of January but my resolutions gone’ ushers in a rare, and nicely unhinged, guitar solo. This is a high-quality, very enjoyable collection of roots oriented hooky pop, if some of these songs found their way onto the right ipods Morning Bride could even have a hit or two on their hands!

Eight out of Ten

Reviewed by Patrick Wilkins

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