The second instalment of what is likely to be one of the the years most hotly anticipated albums has arrived in the shape of Morganway's latest single "Wait For Me". Already firmly planted in the top spot as UK Americana's premiere live act, their latest attempt to transfer the sheer excitement generated by their live show into a recorded artefact is simply stunning.
There is always just so much to absorb when they are on stage that it easy to overlook the little nuances in Matt's keyboards, or quite how exact Nicole Terry's violin playing is, but on "Wait For Me" everything is impeccably balanced leaving the listener with the ability to focus and find something new with each repeated play.
In truth it is an all out assault on the senses from the very off - Ed's drumming sets a fearsome insistent beat and for Morganway comparitively a muted almost jangly guitar sound sets the scene for SJ's opening vocals.
"I move in the space between heartbeats - I speak in the thoughts between words - I go unheard"
The chorus sees a face off between Nicole Terry's fiddle and SJ's delivery - it's a score draw - NIcole keeps up the urgency of the beat while Ed's drumming has subsided, meanwhile SJ is powering out the vocals but this is just a taster of what is to come a mere soupcon of the drama to unfold. By the second half of the chorus everyone has joined in, not only on their own instruments but on backing vocals as well - you can try to concentrate and pick out your favourite bit or just let it wash over you like the musical tsunami that it is.
The song apparently is about the band experience, keeping the band together and as one of the few folk to see Morganway operate a member down on two occasions it is hard to underestimate just what a vital part each member plays in making the band tick. A show without Nicole's fiddle and stomping left the band strangely static and another without Ed's drumming lacked the usual driving impetus - they would still blow most other bands offstage but it was no longer the sum of all of the parts.
Two thirds of the way through there appears to be a brief respite in proceedings as things slow and SJ fiercely screams
"We chose this life"
but it's a false dawn, for now they have reached the top of the rollercoaster and the only way now is down and at full speed!!
The band once again explode into action with a pulsating blend of musicality matched by SJ's "Wait, Wait For Me Now"'s and a host of different backing vocals. Even in this all out gallop to the end there are little pieces to be picked out such as the three notes Matt picks out over the closing section that almost echo the "Yeah Yeah Yeah's" on the chorus of "She Loves You"
It concludes with SJ crying "I'm reaching out" on possibly the most exhilarating four minutes of the year so far and the best thing of all is that there is so much more to come.
