Dawn - Music

Samson & Delilah Are A 5 Piece Australian/British Chamber-Psych-Folk-Pop Group Based In Manchester Led By The Songwriting Partnership Of Husband And Wife Sam Lench And Anna Zweck. Having Played As A Duo And In Several Bands Within Manchester's Burgeoning New-Folk Scene Most Notably 'The Waverton Collective' Sam And Anna Eventually Joined Forces With Michael Doward Double Bass Tom Rydeard Drums And Anna's Fellow South Australian Tammy Hermann Flute Piano Accordion . The Samson & Delilah Band Formed During The Recording Of Their Self-Titled Debut Album Of 2009 Which Was Nominated For Best Debut Album Of The Year By Spiral Earth And Led To Airplay On 6 Music And Shows At Several UK Festivals. Supports Have Included Horse Feathers Arbouretum Cherry Ghost 3 Daft Monkeys And Mick Turner Dirty Three . The Band's Second Album 'And Straight On Till Morning' Is A Beautiful Record Of Chamber Folk Immaculately Recorded In A Restored Victorian Concert Hall. Recorded Almost Totally Live Over A Single Week The Record Uses The Vast Space Of The Concert Hall To Full Effect With Natural Reverb And Multiple Ambient Microphones Capturing The Dynamics Of A Band Totally At Ease With Each Other And Their Songs. Often Playing Together In A Circle Their Music Directly Communicates Truths Between Performer And Listener. The New Album Has Been Featured Extensively On Gideon Coe’s 6 Music Show As Well As On Mike Harding’s BBC Radio 2 Show And Shows The Band's Assured Progression From A Duo Vehicle For Zweck And Lench To A Full Band Capable Of Shifting In A Heartbeat From Mournful Piano Laments To Byrds-Like Psyche-Drone To Uplifting Anthemic Crescendos. Album Information Samson & Delilah's Second Album Was Released On January 17th 2010 On Little Red Rabbit Records. 'And Straight On Till Morning' Is A Beautiful Record Of Psychedelic Folk Immaculately Recorded In A Restored Victorian Concert Hall. Recorded Almost Totally Live Over A Single Week The Record Uses The Vast Space Of The Concert Hall To Full Effect With Natural Reverb And Multiple Ambient Microphones Capturing The Dynamics Of A Band Totally At Ease With Each Other And Their Songs. Often Playing Together In A Circle Their Music Acts As Direct Folk Songs That Communicate Truths Between Performer And Listener. Starting With The Spooked-Out Cover Of A Boy Discovering A Strange Beast An Atmosphere Of Nocturnal Psychedelia Seeps Through Songs Where Physical And Emotional Distance Intertwine. The Title Comes From Peter Pan Lench's Songs In Particular Capture The Book's Sense Of Escape And Flight Be It Literal Or In Dreams. His Singing Is Rich And Warm But With A Vulnerability That Complements That Longing. Zweck's Songs By Contrast Were Written While Suffering From A Serious Bout Of RSI-Related Illness. Unable To Move Her Right Hand To Create Melodic Elements Her Piano-Based Songs Were Written Around Minimal Chords Unconsciously Referencing Her Interest In Minimal Composers Like Arvo Part And Tord Gustavsen. When Coupled With A Full Band And In Particular Motown-Style Drums That Bleed Onto All The Microphones The Effect Is Thrilling. This Contrast Between Sparse Elemental Writing And The Full Band Arrangements Is One Of The Features Of The Record And One Where Producer Brendan Williams Has Played A Key Role. More Used To Recording Orchestral Ensembles He Uses The Very Fabric Of The Victorian Building To Bring Out The Intimate Details Of These Most Personal Of Songs. As Early As The Opening 'I Took Your Hand' The Sense Of Movement In The Lyrics Is Brought To Life - A Set Of Microphones Placed Along A Corridor Gradually Bring Lench's Vocal Eerily Into Focus. In 'The Ground' Williams Has The Whole Band Singing Through The Guts Of A Prepared Piano With Only A Drum And The Echo Inside The Piano To Unify The Words. Elsewhere Bowed Cymbals Gongs And Drones Lie Just Beneath The Surface Of 'Rope Has Bound The Shadows Down'. It Is In Songs Such As This Where The Album's Marriage Of Unreal Wonder And The Vividly Personal Links So Well. THE GUARDIAN Robin Denselow "Psych Folk Lives On. It's A Brave Fusion With Melodies As Sturdy As Great Hymns And Bold Production Work. This Should Be A Band To Watch." UNCUT
"A Courtly Escapist Collection Of Acoustic Chamber Folk Pieces." MIKE HARDING - RADIO 2
"Uplifting Pastoral Folk With A Twist." AMERICANA UK
"Beautifully Crafted And Feels Like It Will Endure. Little Red Rabbit Have Uncovered Another Gem." SPIRAL EARTH
"Pitched Somewhere Near The Languid Americana Of An Unplugged Midlake 'And Straight Till Morning' Is Enchanting No-Holds-Barred Folkery Which Could Have Announced Itself A Re-Release From Anytime Over The Past Five Decades Without The Merest Flutter From An Eyelid." R2
"Melancholic Drawing-Room Classicism." TERRASCOPE
"Eleven Folk-Rock Cuts Recorded Live With The Band Arrayed In A Circle For Maximum Effect. Gorgeous And Spine-Tingling. Definitely Recommended." ELECTRIC GHOST
"A Truly Fine Album." RADIO Play On Mike Harding Radio 2 Gideon Coe 6Music And Tom Robinson 6Music Praise For Samson & Delilah's Debut Album SPIRAL EARTH
Nominated For Best Debut Album Of The Year. MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
“A Snug Warm Blanket Of A Record It Weaves Sumptuous Folk Arrangements With Bucolic Country-Pop Stretching The Nu-Folk Template In Exciting And Dynamic Ways On A Par With Contemporaries Like Sufjan Stevens & Bon Iver.” GOD IS IN THE TV
“A Band Who Can Thread A Range Of European Roots Music Together And Make It Sound Unmistakeably Theirs... A Wonderfully Well-Woven Record.” CITY LIFE
“Recalls Arcade Fire After A Country-Folk Makeover.” CHANNEL 4 PLANETSOUND
“Like James Yorkston At His Rowdiest.” BOOMKAT
“A Beautiful Tapestry Of Classic '70s Folk-Rock Fusion.” read less