British Americana-rock band, Morganway, gloriously fill new album ‘Kill The Silence' with 12 cohesive, creative tracks celebrating music through melody and lyric; every music fan needs to listen to this album.
Mostly compared to Fleetwood Mac, for their incredible musicianship and powerful vocals, which spin you in a variety of directions whether they’re playing in your ears at home or in front of your eyes in a neon room, the Norfolk/Cambridge six-piece band should also race to the top of your must-see gig list, if you haven’t already experienced one of their live shows.
Founded by twins Callum (lead vocals, bass) and Kieran Morgan (guitar, vocals), Morganway’s line-up includes SJ Mortimer (lead vocals), Matt Brocklehurst (keyboard, vocals), Nicole J Terry (fiddle, vocals) and Ed Bullinger (drums, vocals). The band’s bluesy, rock, folk sounds have equally burst open intimate venues and legendary field-based music festivals, drawing fans old and new with their energising performances.
As album opener’s go, ‘Don’t Turn The Lights On Yet' is an absolute belter, and the song for every live music fan. A controlled 60 second harmonious intro starts off as a ballad, before breaking into Morganway’s signature style of rocking fun and an addictive percussive beat; from now on I’m ‘howling’ for the lights to stay off at the end of all my gigs (which I did at the pre-encore darkness of a Brothers’ Osborne Bristol show this week).
If you like your music with a haunting start, building to a rocking fiddle and resounding stomping sound, then you’re going to love ‘Feels Like Letting Go,' which offers a much-needed liberating energy-release, for when you’ve had one of those months all day.
Piano-based ballad ‘Edge of The Sun' swiftly follows, featuring a range of raw, captivating vocals journeying you through an emotional drench.
Kick your stresses to the side of the floor with the up-tempo ‘Halfway Tonight,' a rocking, guitar-driven sound whirling you around four minutes of energetic flair.
Title track ‘Kill the Silence' is a ballad that stills with chilling lyrics like ‘stop here, there’s trouble in the atmosphere/I can feel it all around/spinning me right to the sound’. The foreboding five-minute song was inspired by climate awareness. Writer and lead vocalist SJ explains, ‘After the pandemic, this song spilled out as it felt like stillness went back to chaos. I just don’t understand how climate change is still being put to one side like it can all wait… from artists and festivals to organisations like “No Music On A Dead Planet”, the music industry is getting behind this notion more and more, and I’m so here for it.’
‘Devil’s Canyon,' meanwhile, is a blues-filled powerful, driving rhythm epitomising the firecracker live shows that Morganway has the good kind of reputation for. Add in desert-based imagery and you have a rock-infused celebration of a ‘70s California canyon sound.
Thematically, Kill The Silence closes a stunning celebration and awareness of music with album closer ‘We Sing' a six-minute bittersweet ballad of the weary side of life on the road, though the experience and the song are punctuated with hope in those backstage moments of laughter and friendship. Craicing Celtic sound with beautiful harmonies taking centre stage.
More recently, Morganway cite Brandi Carlile as an inspiration, which you can absolutely hear on the ‘Kill The Silence' album (recorded live over just four days at a Welsh recording studio). How incredible would a collaboration with the GRAMMY-winning producer, songwriter and performer Carlile and the UK’s best six-piece Americana-rock band sound?
Morganway’s expressive music is perfect for fans of Old Dominion, Emmylou Harris, Elles Bailey, Brothers Osborne and, of course, Fleetwood Mac.
Read our review of their early gig days with this 2019 gig review from Entertainment Focus then catch Morganway on their headline UK tour in 2025.
Tracklist: 1.Don’t Turn The Lights On Yet 2. Boy On A Train 3. Feels Like Letting Go 4. Edge Of The Sun 5. Halfway Tonight 6. Kill The Silence 7. Devil’s Canyon 8. God Damn Time 9. Surrender 10. All The Signs Are There 11. I Feel The Rain 12. We Sing Record Label: Earache Release Date: 31st January Buy ‘Kill the Silence' here
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