Morganway – Kill The Silence

Americana

68%

 

When people talk about supporting live music at a grassroots level, they tend to refer to it like an investment that will one day pay dividends. “You never know when you might see a future Glastonbury headliner”, or “all those big name acts playing Wembley had to start somewhere”, or words to that effect. It’s clearly meant with the best intentions, yet to some extent it still belittles smaller venues by treating them as mere stepping stones. We need gigs of all sizes, and they’re all just as important. Smaller does not mean lesser; some of the best gigs I’ve been to have been in spaces slightly larger than your average living room. Many people – fans and artists alike – live for moments like these. This is their Wembley.

I’ve spoken before about how brightly Americana outfit Morganway shine in a live setting, and how much I wanted them to bring more of that energy to their studio albums. At times the band’s third record Kill The Silence manages to pull it off, albeit not in the way I had in mind. It’s hard to bottle the buzz of a crowd, to replicate the rush an artist feels upon hearing their own song sung back to them, to summon on demand in the studio the same fear and excitement that comes from stepping onto a stage. There’s no feeling like it, and clearly the band agree, as rather than trying in vain to capture it they have instead written their own love letter to it. 

At its best Kill The Silence draws from the band’s shared love for performing together, and for live music as a whole. Opening track ‘Don’t Turn The Lights On Yet’ is a slow burn which basks in that moment of anticipation before taking to the stage. Somewhere between wanting to savour the suspense a while longer, and needing to be grounded for a moment before getting swept up in the headrush. While closing folk ballad ‘We Sing’, whose harmonies feel reminiscent of The Oh Hellos, is a bittersweet rumination on the struggles of life on the road. All the work and stress of touring, the pressures facing independent artists, the sacrifices and compromises needed to chase a dream – weighed against the moments which make it all worthwhile. These two vignettes – the adrenaline of entering the spotlight and the comedown of hefting gear into a van at the end of the night – act as satisfying bookends for the record.

At its very heart the album offers a bigger picture view of the power of music. The title track, ‘Kill The Silence’, offers the band’s own take on the environmentalist movement No Music On A Dead Planet. On the surface its brooding bass groove, violin that hisses with the soft menace of a lit fuse, and the caustic bubbling tone of the guitar solo, all serve as a straightforward reminder of the impending climate emergency. Beneath it though there are echoes of their passion for their craft, a satisfaction in being able to use music as a rallying call for change.

Though the band’s spirit, enthusiasm and camaraderie shine throughout, this doesn’t always manifest in the form of a great record. This latest outing doesn’t have either the immediacy or the staying power of Back To Zero. The hooks not quite as anthemic or memorable, SJ Mortimer’s powerhouse vocals not given as many opportunities for the true grit and fire of her voice to shine through, and a recurring feeling that the band are holding something back. There are fewer moments overall where Morganway feel like they’re firing on all cylinders, but this is balanced out somewhat by them shoring up their weaknesses. Callum Morgan’s vocal work has improved tremendously from since last I heard him, and this record’s quieter moments manage to do more with the space and better craft engaging atmospheres. It’s not Morganway’s most attention grabbing outing, but it does feel like their most consistent.

Kill The Silence still has its share of highlights however, and it saves the bulk of them for its B Side. ‘Devil’s Canyon’ is a fun southern rock romp with some great drum work, ‘Surrender’ is perhaps the band’s most stunning sojourn in the realm of piano balladry, while ‘I Feel The Rain’ is nothing short of a tour de force. One of the heavier cuts in their catalogue, it feels like everything they’ve been holding back has just been in preparation for this moment, keeping something in reserve to give this track the extra juice it needed. Between the solid rhythm section, Nicole J Terry’s elegant violin leading into Kieran Morgan’s blistering guitar solo, and SJ belting out every line like a Valkyrie’s war cry, it feels like the band giving 110%.

Much as we need gigs of all sizes, from poky dive bars to packed out stadiums and everything in between, so the same can be said of the artists that play them and the albums they make. With three albums under their belt, Morganway aren’t the new upstarts desperately vying for attention. Nor are they the established name with nothing to prove, just making records on autopilot. They live in that sweet spot where they just keep on truckin’ for sheer love of the game, and power to them for it! Not every gig needs to be Wembley, and not every album needs to be a masterpiece in order to make the music world just that little bit brighter.

(Kill The Silence is out 31st January)