Brighton Year-Round 2025
Low Down
Fifty minutes of solo song and looped harmonies, rooted in folk, both traditional and contemporary.
Review
As part of the new Once and Future Festival in Brighton, Claire Vine delivered a tightly held and thoughtful set in the upstairs theatre of The Yellow Book. Despite its location on a major traffic route, the venue remained acoustically contained and allowed space for the nuances of the performance to come through clearly.
Vine, who grew up in Hailsham and played her first gig in Brighton, opened with a self-penned song written at the Long Man of Wilmington. Her set moved between original compositions and traditional material, much of it bound together by live vocal looping. These layers were built steadily, forming a textured bed of harmony over which she sang, sometimes with lyrics, sometimes simply letting the tone of the voice take the lead.
The effect was immersive without ever losing clarity. Vine’s ability to construct loops that are both sonically rich and emotionally measured gave the songs room to breathe. At times the atmosphere became expansive and meditative, but her lyrics—often direct, sometimes stark—held the attention and kept the songs rooted in the present. There were moments of stillness, but also weight and urgency, especially in the material dealing with war, environment, and protest.
Among the standouts were an anti-war song referencing Palestine, a sharply observed environmental protest written in a traffic jam, and a darkly humorous piece about an oak tree. Personally, I loved the variety here. Traditional songs like “Let No Man Steal Your Time” and “The Maid from the Shore” were reworked with a slow, deliberate pulse and minimal embellishment. Her use of harmonium, though brief, provided tonal variation, and her unaccompanied singing gave space to the voice itself—tremulous in places, but never uncertain.
There were minor slips in lyrics, but they passed without disruption and I found them to be part of the authenticity and charm of the show. Between songs, Vine’s presence was generous and relaxed, with moments of dry humour and a self-awareness that kept the atmosphere grounded. And that is a benefit in a show that often takes flight with its ethereal looped harmonies. Vine has managed to successfully strike a careful balance between confidence and openness, letting the material carry its own weight.
The venue’s architecture helped shape the sound, with the performer situated in a front alcove and the music reflecting out into the room and back again. There’s potential here for further acoustic development, but even as it stands, the space supported the performance well.
Clare Vine is currently working on a new album. On the evidence of this performance, it will likely bring together the same mix of strong musical judgement, political edge, and emotional understatement that made this well rounded set so distinctive.
