Live
Villagers + Billie Marten
The Old Market, Brighton
October 31 2018
Words/Pictures: Steve Willcox
Making my way to this venue brings me past bespoke coffee houses and Artisan pizza cafes, such is the Brighton-Hove trendy hipster outlook, but tucked in the middle is The Old Market, a 500-capacity music and arts venue that tonight plays host to a sold out show by young prodigy Billie Marten, and Irish stalwarts, Villagers.
19-year-old Billie Marten shot to fame on YouTube covering records for her grandparents who lived abroad. She soon got noticed and started to release her own compositions... and the rest as they say... Tonight she starts her set with ‘Milk and Honey’, her ethereal voice and acoustic guitar bringing sentiment to the early punters. It’s hard to believe her age when you see her onstage as she’s one totally relaxed and confident performer.
‘La Lune’ adds keyboardist/drummer Jason Odle to the mix as she sings about memories of holiday adventures with vivid clarity. ‘Cartoon People’ brought her take on the absurdity of war to the night with its anti-Trump theme. Finishing of her set with newly released ‘Mice’ with its over-analysing and low self-esteem issues, makes the audience feel that much more closer to Miss Marten and everyone then starts applauding this emotional set.
Villagers are an eclectic bunch of accomplished Irish indie-folk musicians from Dublin, fronted by songwriter and vocalist/guitarist Conor O'Brien, fronted by Conor O’Brien, who started out as a solo project 10 years ago. Tonight the whole band is in the Halloween spirit, with faces painted in a Day of the Dead theme. Promoting new album ‘The Art of Pretending to Swim’, they kick off with ‘Sweet Saviour’. With just a guitar in his hand, links into the previous acts material, Conor’s voice is soulfully sweet and delicate throughout, and captures the crowd's full attention
‘Again’ picks up a rhythmic pace as the beats get faster and faster, with added synths from Marcus Hamblett. Latest single ‘Fool’ with its guitar melody and witty lyrics are reminiscent of Divine Comedy, gets a good reception; as does ‘Trick of the Light’, its upbeat Spanish guitar melody ably complementing Mali Llewelyn’s keyboard work as she also provides backing vocal to the song.
Afterwards Conor asks the audience for any weird facts about Brighton, the best being that Hitler was going to live here, to much amusement. Then moving on to ‘Real Go-Getter’ showing off the synth arrangement to fine effect, mixed with the fast beats of Gwion Llewelyn, sounding similar to Sam Sparro’s 2008 hit ‘Black & Gold’ mixed with Danny Snow's slow basslines and Conor’s falsetto voice. Villagers' early breakthrough tune ‘Becoming A Jackal’ gets an airing with its dark overtures and catchy melody proves it is still much a fan favourite.
With the crowd bellowing for more , the band re-emerge on stage with an encore of three songs: ‘Hold Me Down’ with its raindrop sounding synths and guitar picking rhythm; ‘Courage’, showing Conar’s vocal range with its slow guitar and brush drumming, and ‘Nothing Arrived’, a touching number that has me hookrd me into its hypnotic rhythm and lyrical prose: “It's our dearest ally / it's our closest friend / It's our darkest blackout / it's our final end”. The audience start clapping as its last bars fade, and I leave the venue feeling a little bit happier knowing we have lyricists tge calibre of Conar Brien filling the voids with love, even if it hurts sometimes.
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