aaamusic | On 22, Mar 2011

Rising blues and country star Delta Maid releases her gorgeous debut album, ‘Outside Looking In’ on May 9th.

Packing a hipflask full of Mersey moonshine and soul-studded country blues, this Liverpudlian singer songwriter’s love affair with American roots music began when she was a child. A fan of Son House, Skip James, Bessie Smith and Robert Johnson, Delta’s influences might be out of time but she’s a distinctly modern act, developing her own way of picking her beloved acoustic guitar.

Recorded at Parr Street Studios in her hometown of Liverpool and co-produced by Delta and Chris Taylor with her brother on lead guitar, ‘Outside Looking In’ is so called because of the record’s reflective qualities. It’s also the name of a stand out song on the album, which fuses rockabilly with the sound of one of Delta’s icons, the sublime and soulful Patsy Cline. “The melody came after watching The Stray Cats in concert on TV a while back. I’ve always loved the sound of the 50s – namely Gretsch guitars – and Brian Setzer inspired me that day. It was definitely destined to be a heartache song.”

Running the gamut of human emotion, the poignant, ‘Running On Empty’ is worthy of Bonnie Raitt, while the tender ‘Footprints’ was taken from her time working in a nursing home. Yet such downbeat moments are balanced with equally as accomplished highs, such as the southern gospel bounce of ‘All I Dreamed’ and the up-tempo ‘Of My Own’, which positively zings. A perky, assertive ode to standing up to a friend or a lover who just keeps on bringing you down, this country-fried hipshaker is the first official single to be taken from ‘Outside Looking In’ (out May 1st).

Meanwhile, ‘Dance With My Broken Heart’ follows after the sweet sounds of heartbreak country and rings the same bells as its originator, Hank Williams, once did whilst ‘Any Way I Want To’ picks up on blues and ragtime from the same era.

Delta has already supported Seth Lakeman, Ray LaMontagne, Ellie Goulding and Martha Wainwright and recently took on a four date residency at the Wheelbarrow in Camden.

Upcoming dates:

3rd Apr Chester – Telfords Warehouse
6th Apr Leicester – Musician (supp. Little Miss Higgins)
7th Apr Coventry – Taylor John’s House (supp. William Tyler)
16th Apr Liverpool – The Family Folk-up
30th Apr London – Camden Crawl – Summer Sundae Stage
3rd May Manchester – Band on the Wall
4th May London – The Wheelbarrow
8th May Bristol – Louisiana
9th May Birmingham – Glee Club
12th May London – Slaughtered Lamb
14th May Liverpool – Ink Room at The Masque
17th May Edinburgh – Sneaky Pete’s
18th May York – The Basement
19th May Liverpool – Liverpool Sound City
29th May Newcastle – Evolution Weekender
5th Jun Cheltenham – Wychwood Festival
14th July Salisbury – Larmer Tree Festival

www.facebook.com/deltamaid
http://www.myspace.com/deltamaid

Introducing Delta Maid: