Live Review: Morning Bride

Every once in a while you stumble upon a band and wonder how it is that not more people know about them, but you’re secretly pleased they don’t. Morning Bride are that kind of band.

From deep in the heart of Hackney, but far removed from the self-conscious trilby wearing trends exported from the borough, Morning Bride are one half Bolton, the other half American. Fresh and exuberant, the five-piece meld the genres of country and blues with Americana and folk.

Tonight they play a semi-acoustic gig to a crowd of local fans upstairs in a Stoke Newington pub. “You decide what this song’s about. We still don’t know,” says co-vocalist bassist and lyricist Mark Pearson to the crowd before “Replica”. The song begins with Pete Bennett’s blues guitar picking interplaying with gentle cello and Mark’s vocals, before it bursts unexpectedly into life, Amity Dunn’s belting the line, “Bang bang, lay down and play dead”.

They have a gem in singer Dunn, whose enchanting voice lilts gently over the folk guitar picking in the tale of lost love, “Stepping Out In Front Of Cars” and elsewhere builds to an astonishing melodic peak. And throughout the set, she deftly moves from playing harmonica to accordion.

The band end on the humorous “Mother Hackney”, another gem from their debut album Lea Valley Delta Blues. It’s clear that Morning Bride have a fervent local following, but with a sound this vast, it’s time they spread out and reach higher climes.