Delta Maid - New Waves @ Breaking More Waves

Quite recently we received an email that suggested that Breaking More Waves was “The best synth pop / electronic music blog on the UK south coast.” Compliments are always very nice, even if the motive is to attempt to get coverage for a band on the blog. Yet this compliment disappointed us. Although electronic music is one of our passions, we have a much broader church than that. Look back at what we’ve covered this year, and you’ll see the evidence. We’ve never attempted to be genre specific, although the chances of you finding any metal or much hip hop here are limited. So for those who subscribe / read for fingerings of electronic goodness, we apologise, for today you are out of luck, it’s all about the river deep acoustic blues.

With the likes of Lissie and Caitlin Rose bringing a country sound back into mainstream fashion, it would come as no surprise to us if Delta Maid was the next rootsy songstress to step up to the plate. With a Mississippi croon that brings to mind Bonnie Raitt, Tammy Wynette or Patsy Cline it comes as some surprise to find that Delta Maid is from Liverpool, UK, studied biology and was training to be a vascular scientist before the call of music took over. Whilst Liverpool may not draw immediate analogies to the Deep South sound that Delta Maid references, she suggests that there is at least one similarity between the two - that of honesty - as Liverpool folk are well known for wearing their hearts on their sleeve.

The songs of Delta Maid consist of piano, acoustic guitar and soft drums. We can imagine wandering into a stuffy Jack Daniels stained bar in Alabama and finding her sitting in the corner, singing her heart out. From the piano balladry of Running On Empty to the nasal twangs and guitar picking of Breaking Branches, Delta Maid has songs that could charm the socks off both a Scouser and a cowboy.

Although primarily a singer songwriter in her own right, Delta Maid has worked with Ed Harcourt on a song called Make Up Your Mind, the video of which can be seen here (warning contains nudity). However everything else she has created has been under her own steam - a spirited and accomplished set of songs which should endear to those who get to see her play this summer at a significant number of UK Festivals including T in the Park, Latitude, Deershed Festival and the Big Chill.

If you go to see her, just don’t expect any synth pop.