Tag Archives: Vic Allen

Vic Allen, Voodoo Daddy’s Show Room, Norwich, 2 November 2025

Beth Keeping was first on stage at this atmospheric underground venue. Her songs are full of story and imagination, from her ambivalent feelings for the city of ‘new york’, the rush of ‘Plane Tickets’ and the poignant family memory of ‘known you better’. An accomplished guitarist and keyboard player, she was later to reappear on stage with Vic.

Vic Allen also threads confessional lyrics through her country-pop songs, to great effect in the classy opener ‘Enough’. Following on with the evocative ‘Mexico’ and ‘Barcelona’ and the melodic ballad ‘Confetti’ showcases her range of original compositions. She is a good communicator, explaining the stories behind the songs. A cover of ‘Dakota’ by Stereophonics and a sensitive version of Beth’s ‘Two Seats Down’ fitted neatly into the set. Many of the tracks feature on Vic’s album ‘Some Place I’d Rather Be‘, including the autobiographical ‘Suitcase’ and the pounding country-rock of ‘Drive-Thru’ bringing the set to a spectacular close.

https://www.vicallenmusic.com/

https://www.bethkeeping.com/

Vic Allen : Ghost Town, single released September 2019

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Singer/songwriter/guitarist Vic Allen has continued to release top-quality singles since her ‘Between The Lines’ EP in early 2018. The Norwich-based performer blends heartfelt lyrics with a new-country instrumental backing, subtle and always reflective of the sentiment of the song. ‘Talk’ had a longing and urgency in the sung short phrases before the chorus sailed in with its descending backing voices and raised the track to new heights.

‘Enough’ was built around a mid-tone guitar figure which continues effectively through the song as the lyric unwinds ‘… walking home with my headphones on…same old street…same old song…‘. The tale of frustration weaved through with the chasing of dreams resolves into the chorus line ‘…it ain’t enough for me…’. It is an impressive song of questing and questioning with a contemplative and cinematic soundtrack.

Now new single ‘Ghost Town’ is a more soulful ballad, with the vocal performance the key aspect as guitar effects drift in and out below. It is a slow building complex track featuring melancholy thoughts, ‘….I don’t want to fall asleep with this fear in my heart…’ with bleak conclusions ‘…out here it’s just a ghost town…’.
Halfway through the percussion joins to propel the narrator and listener through the emotionally desolate townscape of the title. With a mesmerising voice, a deep bass line and a spectrum of guitars and sonic textures this adds up to a haunting and memorable single.

https://www.vicallenmusic.com/

Vic Allen : Between The Lines, EP released February 2018

Vic Allen : Between The Lines, EP released February 2018

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Vic Allen is a singer/songwriter/guitarist from Norwich, making a name for herself in the flourishing UK new-country/folk scene. This set of four songs is a follow-up to ‘The Missing Piece’ EP from 2016. Opening track ‘Quit’ is a melancholy tale of the end of a relationship, woven through with resignation and reality. The gentler guitar work in the verses steps up into the sweeping but controlled chorus and the video partly filmed on the vast and strangely empty beaches of the Norfolk coast symbolises better times now gone. ‘Bittersweet’ is affecting in its deceptive simplicity, with some subtle vocal harmonies.

The title track is all about escape into the wide open spaces and an unknown future, a preferable alternative to a life trapped ‘Between The Lines’, set to a more conventional US country sound of instrumentation and vocal stylings than the rest of the EP. It is a fine soundtrack to the road-trip video that accompanies the music. ‘Kids’ is Vic’s best vocal performance, full of heartfelt mellow nostalgia for lost time over counterpointing guitar figures and a haunting hookline.

It is an impressive EP, four contrasting tracks that showcase Vic Allen’s expressive voice and songwriting potential.

https://www.vicallenmusic.com/