Morton Valence are a London-based rock band based around the vocal pairing of songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Robert 'Hacker' Jessett (ex-member of The Band of Holy Joy^[2] and Alabama 3^[3]) and Anne Gilpin. They term their music as Urban Country^[4] and were described by The Guardian as being "one of the most intriguing bands on these shores".^[5]

Founded in 2001 by Robert Jessett, Anne Gilpin and Chuck Whobrey, the band won the 2006 Fopp Award for best new band^[6] and went on to sign a record contract with Cheap Date Records. After the release of the single "Sailors" - described by the BBC as being "the best single you've never heard of the past decade"^[7] - they split from Cheap Date to form their own label, Bastard Recordings, and are an early example of an independent band who entered into a crowd funding agreement with their fans.^[8] Their 2009 single Chandelier was a BBC Radio 2 Record of the Week.^[9]

They have recorded eight full-length studio albums, all of which have been highly acclaimed in the music press,^{[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]} including four star reviews in Mojo Magazine^[17] Q Magazine^[18]Uncut Magazine^[19]Classic Rock Magazine^[20] and an album of the year on the Chicago-based website Consequence of Sound.^[21]

In 2020 Jessett and Gilpin wrote and directed an autobiographical film documentary entitled This Is A Film About A Band that was premiered at the Doc'N Roll Film Festival in London.^[22]

Their eponymously titled eighth album was produced by legendary pedal steel guitar player BJ Cole,^[23] who also appears on the album and plays with the band intermittently.