HALF HAPPY + GRACE EQUI – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 12.12.24
Upcoming Cardiff four-piece Half Happy arrived at Brighton’s Hope & Ruin as part of their first headline tour to promote their debut EP ‘Conversation Killer’. It was also their first time playing Brighton. Half Happy are Rose (vocals), Zac (drums), Jon (bass) and Pete (guitar). For their live show, they were joined on stage by Gavin as an additional guitarist.
The darkly lit Hope & Ruin stage was decorated with flowers on the mic stand, speakers and drum kit. Half Happy started with the dreamy sounds of ‘Sorry’, on which we had our first taste of Rose’s quality sweet vocals. She mixed her vocal styles both between and within songs. She closed their opening number with a few spoken word lines. Their second song ‘Say This Twice’ had a punchier sound with Rose starting with more of a spoken delivery, before switching to a melodic style.
While there were echoes of 1990’s musical genres, with dream-pop, indie-rock and post punk, Half Happy had their own fresh take on these styles across a musically varied set. This was further shown by the subtle switch to the indie jangly guitars on ‘Well Done Honey’ and Rose’s poppier up-tempo vocals. Rose became more animated, dancing along as the pace of that song increased. On this, and other tracks, Pete’s guitar parts added a rockier edge, which blended well with the indie sounds. His guitar helped differentiate Half Happy from the many 1990’s dream pop inspired bands around today.
The dreamy indie sounds on ‘Lovesweep’ and ‘Boozy’ were very catchy. Rose comfortably hit the high notes on ‘Lovesweep’, while ‘Boozy’ showcased their quality guitar sounds and clever changes in tempo and mood. While the following song ‘Up In Daisies’ started quite mellow, it built to an alt-rock sound two thirds in, with quality drumming from Zac.
‘Bloom’ was a change in style starting as a solo by Rose singing to just a minimal recorded track. She swapped between dreamy and conversational almost chatting singing styles, before the band joined. This track had more of an experimental feel musically with some distortion added to the guitars, without overcomplicating their sound.
There was a real sweetness in Rose’s voice on ‘Runaway Girl’ perfectly matching the dreaminess of the music. The soft jangly indie guitars on ‘Steal Me Away’, the first song the band wrote, was a sound that was so easy to lose yourself in. Ross’s soft soaring vocals again match the music perfectly.
Having started with the opening track of their debut ‘Conversation Killer’ EP, Half Happy closed their set with its final track ‘Slow Down’. ‘Slow Down’ had a shoegaze feel to it with more space for Rose’s relaxed vocals. That relaxed feel in her voice continued as the music built and her singing rose to match it.
There were calls for more songs at the end of Half Happy’s very entertaining performance. The band explained that unfortunately they didn’t have any more songs and joked they weren’t playing covers. Judging by the loud applause and the queue at the merch stall afterwards, I think many at the Hope & Ruin would be more than happy to see Half Happy play Brighton again, me included.
While the band have no dates booked back in Brighton, they said afterwards they’d love to return. Keep your fingers crossed and your eyes on their social media for news of a return to play Brighton.
Half Happy:
Rose Miller – vocals
Zac Noneley – drums
Jon Wilson – bass
Pete Smith – guitar
Half Happy setlist:
‘Sorry’ (from 2024 ‘Conversation Killer’ EP)
‘Say This Twice’ (a 2023 single)
‘Well Done Honey’ (from 2024 ‘Conversation Killer’ EP)
‘Lovesweep’ (a 2022 single)
‘Boozy’ (a 2023 single release)
‘Up In Daisies’ (from 2024 ‘Conversation Killer’ EP)
‘Bloom’ (from 2024 ‘Conversation Killer’ EP)
‘Runaway Girl’ (a 2023 single)
‘Steal Me Away’ (a 2022 single)
‘Slow Down’ (from 2024 ‘Conversation Killer’ EP)
Opening for Half Happy was Grace Equi, a solo singer-songwriter. Grace is often seen at gigs around Brighton behind the camera shooting bands. This was only her third Brighton appearance on the other side of the concert photographer’s lens.
There was a high stool set up mid stage, ready for Grace as she came on stage in a Jesus and Mary Chain T-shirt with her acoustic guitar. Unlike many solo artists these days, there was no laptop or backing track for Grace’s set. It was just her and her guitar.
From the opening lines of her first track ‘Stain’, the warmth in her voice was clear. Grace began playing without any introduction, and there were a few people still talking as she started. But very soon in that first song, people were tuned into the sounds from the stage.
From what I could gather, many of Grace Equi’s songs were about the emotions of relationships, both new ones and broken ones that were over. On ‘Wheezy’ the hint of sadness she portrayed in her voice perfectly matched the subject matter.
Later in her set, ‘Dream You’ had a more up-tempo sharper edge, while the song that followed, her newest ‘Good Yet’ was probably the softest song she played. She explained ‘Good Yet’ was a working title and asked “if anybody has a better title, then let me know.” I don’t know if anybody suggested another title, but I’d say everyone enjoyed it,
‘Who You Are’, with its upbeat hopeful feel, closed a very enjoyable performance by Grace Equi. Her set was greeted by loud applause from an appreciative audience. While Grace Equi has no shows booked yet for 2025, she’s hoping to play more shows in Brighton. So, follow her on social media for future live dates.
Grace Equi setlist:
‘Stain’
‘Too Good’
‘Laughing Now’
‘Wheezy’
‘Taste Of You’
‘Dream You’
‘Good Yet’
‘Who You Are’
(all unreleased)
