Albums | Morganway - Back To Zero
- John Van de Mergel
- 7 mei 2023
- 6 minuten om te lezen
Ze worden (al te vaak) vergeleken met de latere Fleetwood Mac, jaren tachtig bedoel ik dan. Ook ik deed dit bij mijn bespreking van hun eerste full album uit 2019. Hoe meer ik hen echter beluister - en dan zeker op basis van deze prachtige opvolger - hoe meer ik van die gedachte afstap. Ik blijf graag vergelijken met bands die spontaan bij me opkomen na enkele luisterbeurten en ik blijf ook in het eerder vermelde decennium, maar wel met namen als Quarterflash, Cock Robin en later ook wel The Corrs. Qua muziek dus hƩƩl aangename en frisse poprock met wat invloeden uit heartland en westcoast rock, alsook folk.
Mac is natuurlijk aanwezig in de songs van Morganway. Luister maar naar World Stop Running (Buckingham?), We Were Going Nowhere (McVie?) en The Man (Nicks?) en je moet al potdoof zijn om de invloeden niet te horen. Vergeleken met het meer wisselvallige debuut is Back To Zero een opmerkelijke stap vooruit. HƩƩl slim om het te houden op negen songs en wat mager lijkende achtendertig minuten. Liever dit dan elf nummers waarvan minstens drie opvullertjes. Bij een eerste luisterbeurt krijg ik de indruk dat de sterkste songs opnieuw vooraan zitten. Het erg dansbare Wait For Me is een opener van jewelste die je meteen te pakken heeft en Come Over volgt als een zalige meezinger. Tweemaal een glansrol voor de uitstekende strot van Mortimer en tweemaal de meest zalige melodielijnen en prachtige backing vocals. Tijdens het openingsnummer zet Terry leuke accenten op viool en daarna is het de beurt aan Kieran Morgen om uit te pakken op zijn gitaar. Burn Every Page is de Frozen In Our Time van dit album en mijn absolute favoriet: een geladen nummer met een licht psychedelische inslag, Mortimer die laat horen wat een fantastische zangeres ze wel is en Terry die haar viool laat subtiel janken. The Sweetest Goodbye contrasteert heel sterk met zijn voorganger. De pianoballad biedt een rustpunt met ingetogen zang en een viool die snijdt als een cello, door merg en been.
Heeft de band dan opnieuw haar kruid verschoten? Niet echt wanneer je ook de laatste vier nummers een kans en plaats geeft. Het is nog genieten van een kort maar leuk meezingmoment en spetterend snaarwerk. Op het afsluitende Brothers neemt Callum Morgan nog eens de lead voor zijn rekening en stelt Mortimer zich nederig ten dienste. Iets wat gelukkig genoeg mindert voorkomt om dit album. Niet dat Callum geen goede zanger is, maar wanneer je een vocaal veelzijdige en sterke frontvrouw in je gelederen hebt, moet je 'verstandige' keuzes maken lijkt me.
Ik citeer nog eens Jonathan Brick (A Country Way Of Life):
"One of Britainās most exciting unsigned bands...they are going places.ā Ik geef de man nog steeds gelijk en hoop dat ƩƩn van die places een gig in BE en/of NL mag zijn.
Releasedatum: 5 mei 2023
luister
lees
Following a string of singles and a UK headline tour announcement, Americana rock band Morganway released their new record, Back To Zero ā an album captured over a wild period in the bandās recent history. Writing and recording took place during 2020s lockdowns and then later fitted around a relentless touring schedule; from forced resets and sudden restarts, its title track served as an appropriate name for the latest body of work from this resilient band.
āPretty early on in the process we knew Back To Zero was the title. Itās what a lot of us have felt in recent times and itās something we were going through together while making the record. Resets can be good. They force us to change, and change leads to growth, and bands need that, too. It was a very creative time for us and for me, Back to Zero celebrates that above all else.ā ā Callum Morgan, co-founder of Morganway
Ferocious album opener āWait For Meā perfectly showcases Morganwayās unique approach to music, gradually building from an Americana intro up to full-blown rock with the help of SJ Mortimerās bellowing vocals and Nicole J Terryās expert fiddle stylings. But thatās just the beginning, with the bluesy āCome Overā amping up the volume further in an ode to an independent woman. As well as once again proving powerful vocals, SJ Mortimer wrote this number, explaining that the song āexplores a strong independent woman, feeling powerful in her own skin, but with a knot in her heart from lifeās pressures and tribulations.ā
One aspect of Morganway that the band pride themselves on is that while various genres can be picked out from their music, they themselves do not categorise their output into any particular one. āAll of us have very different influences and we donāt focus on genre,ā says Mortimer. āEven when we donāt all agree something great still comes out, so we hit record and go with it.ā With recent single āWorld Stopped Runningā for example, the gorgeously strummed guitars, singalong hook and chorus make for a rousing and hopeful indie-folk tune. Unafraid to tap into lifeās deeper emotions on āSweetest Goodbyeā, the group tenderly touch on themes of loss and saying farewell with a simple piano and violin accompaniment, stylistically influenced by Joni Mitchellās Blue chosen by the songās co-writer Matt Brocklehurst.
At the other end of the spectrum, the band play in a blaze of fury at great volume on āBurn Every Pageā. Written in between lockdowns by Mortimer, Callum Morgan and lead guitarist Kieran Morgan, they tap into the collective confusion of the time and channel it into a will to set fire to what came before. With her vocal prowess on full display here, Mortimer is also the bandās rhythm guitarist and explains that āit was written at a time when none of us knew what the f*** was going on! I had this riff and knew I wanted it to be a rocky one.ā
Glorious layered harmonies can be heard throughout the album ā for example, āWe Were Going Nowhereā and āThe Manā allow for some fun with both the main and backing vocals, complimenting the rich musicianship of Morganway. The latter, especially, shines with an incredibly uplifting and enthralling classic rock vibe. However, the fun turns introspective for album highlight and title track āBack To Zeroā, where Mortimerās voice soars and every band member plays with their hearts on their sleeves for this moving hands-in-the-air number.
āAlthough it was written before 2020, as we were developing this album in-between lockdowns and then completing it when the live scene was finally starting to return, the idea of āheading backā meant more to us than ever. As a band we were unable to perform together, we were unable to be together, so effectively the path it felt like we were on upon releasing our debut album had suddenly hit reset. Yet thereās also a very uplifting idea to starting over. Back to basics. Itās like meditation in a way, resetting the mind.ā ā Callum Morgan
Closing the album is the personal āBrotherā, written by Callum for his brother and bandmate Kieran. He explains that āsome of the lyrics are so close to us that probably only he and I would get them, others are perhaps more universal regarding family and friendship.ā The record finishes with a slight country shuffle, providing the perfect ending to an album exploring a multitude of emotions.
Morganway are a Norfolk/Cambridge-based six piece, founded by twins Callum (lead vocals, bass) and Kieran Morgan (guitar, vocals). SJ Mortimer (lead vocals), Matt Brocklehurst (keyboard, vocals), Nicole J Terry (fiddle, vocals) and Ed Bullinger (drums, vocals) complete the lineup. The bandās music has previously seen radio support from the legendary Bob Harris on his BBC Radio 2 show, and has also received airplay on Planet Rock, with press support coming in from the likes of Classic Rock Magazine, Guitar.com, Maverick Magazine, and Entertainment Focus. They have built a name for themselves on the live circuit with their loud and lively rock sound, and have supported stalwarts such as Skunk Anansie, The Shires and Elles Bailey, while also gracing stages at festivals like Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival, Country 2 Country, and The British Country Music Festival. The band have additionally been named the BCMA (British Country Music Association) āBand of the Yearā winning the award in 2021 and 2022, and have also won BCMAās āBest Groupā and UK Country Spotlight Awardsā āBest Groupā.
Back To Zero will be available on CD and limited edition red vinyl, the first 300 of which will be signed by the band.
