Sometimes the fairy-lit upstairs room of a crammed Stoke Newington pub
can become the centre of the musical world; when time stands still on
the brush of a drum or the stroke of a cello bow – especially when
Amity Dunn sings. Her voice demands rapt attention, urges the pre-Xmas
buzz to stop dead, drop everything and pay close heed to the power in
the words she directs right into the soul.

Morning Bride songs have a bittersweet joy which transcend their
inherent melancholy. Mark Pearson's lyrics cover all the bases of pain
and loss – railway station romantic terminations, New Year suicide,
even
a shared death rattle – but as this is Anglo-Americana, the pathos is
tinted with the vibrant sound of mother Hackney's urban bustle and a
promise of salvation as much as it is with Pete Bennett's timelessly
heartfelt blues guitar.

They make damn fine gingerbread too.