Artists - Darlingside, Lizzie No

Venue - Chalk

Town - Brighton

Date - July 24th 2024

 All the way from Massachusetts, USA  we were treated on Monday to the folk  / Americana band Darlingside, freshly arrived in the UK for a few scattered dates to help promote their latest album Everything Is Alive.  

 Before they clock in, we have their label mate on Thirty Tigers to entertain us for half an hour. Enter stage, Lizzie No with an armful of wonderful songs to play us. Plenty touching on lost love but all created with love and played on a mixture of acoustic guitar and a form of stringed instrument similar to a harp but smaller and played while held aloft, I am not sure of the correct term but when mixed with the electric guitar was a fine sound to add depth to her creations. Lizzie has a small axe to grind both socially and politically but does it with positive sounding songs, issues are laid bare and we can appreciate them amongst the beautiful singing. Her latest album is Halfsies an album aimed at living amongst the America of today and the affect it has had on her.

 Black Deer have organised this gig and have more to come throughout the summer and autumn. They are spread around the country at many different venues. 

With many instuments to tune and keep in tune Darlingside were constantly monitoring the strings of their many instruments so this did result in some interludes between numbers, the songs then took off as the mix and sound together launched from the stage hitting us squarely with the  complexity and dexterity within the playing and harmonies. What was quickly apparant is that each vocal was quite different in tone and character but all played their part in each song or when as often happened, mixed together for harmony.

 Several songs from Everything Is Alive were played, Darkening Hour and The Breaking Of The Day particularly stood out on first hearing. the style could be compared to other artists and there certainly are many touch points that are similar out there, Darlingside have so much to offer and having so many voices to call on for their songs can really be different each time.

 Catch them on their current tour