Villagers

Albums

17 albums sorted by Most acclaimed

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The Art Of Pretending To Swim

Villagers

Alternative & Indie - Released September 21, 2018 | Domino Recording Co

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Like wine, music improves with age. And Conor O’Brien’s matures well. From the Malahide coast, where the Irishman composed his first three albums on his farm, to the hubbub of Dublin, the villager has changed his scene. Much like his album. After Becoming a Jackal, Awayland and Darling Arythmetic, three soft pop-folk albums, the songwriter with ice-cube eyes has released The Art Of Pretenting To Swim. O’Brien has read the Pro Tools manual for a shorter album length (44 minutes) and much more elaborate detail. We find simple poems (A Trick Of The Light) where the Irishman sings “We are the dawn, we carry the sun”, while he tells of the conflict between blinding faith and mathematical reason on Ada. With his string arrangements (Ada) which are more reminiscent of The Clientele than Damien Rice, beautiful electro (Real Go-Getter), soul (Long Time Waiting), brass (Love Came With All That It Brings), soft synths (Sweet Saviour) and a warming voice, the opus is addictive and unpretentious. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

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Darling Arithmetic

Villagers

Alternative & Indie - Released April 13, 2015 | Domino Recording Co

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Coming off Villagers' highly touted, Mercury Prize-nominated debut, 2010's Becoming a Jackal, singer/songwriter Conor J. O'Brien updated his group's atmospheric baroque pop sound with the addition of various synthesizers and drum machines, as well as creative collaboration with a working group of bandmates. Subsequently, Villagers' sophomore album, 2013's {Awayland}, was an even more robust, sonically layered production. Rather than sticking with a more-is-more approach, O'Brien has taken the exact opposite tack for his third album, 2015's Darling Arithmetic, forgoing a group sound and instead working once again as a true solo act. To this end, Darling Arithmetic is possibly even more insular than Becoming a Jackal, with O'Brien largely favoring acoustic guitar, piano, and softly sung lyrics ripe with the scent of a relationship in trouble. In "Everything I Am Is Yours," he sings "I am just a man/Tipping on a wire/Tightrope walking fool/Balanced on desire/I cannot control/These ever-changing ways/So how can I be sure/The feeling will remain/It'll always change." This skeptical desire for love is echoed later in "Hot Scary Summer," as he addresses problems with a possible lover with "So you thank me for my hard work/But you've had it up to there/'Cause this shouldn't be hard work/But I'll fight to care if you'd care to fight." Musically, much -- if not all -- of Darling Arithmetic is pitched at a slow, dream-inducing pace and, while lushly recorded, feels smaller in scope than even Villagers' debut. Admittedly, these are also slower-burning compositions that lack the hooks and pop immediacy of much of Villagers' previous work. Ultimately, however, the pulling back feels intentional and fitting for an album of songs that always seem born out of O'Brien's most personal experiences. As he sings on "The Soul Serene," "So I go walking on the shore/And I wonder what I'm walking for...and I find chameleon dreams in my mind." ~ Matt Collar

Villagers Where Have You Been All My Life?

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Where Have You Been All My Life?

Villagers

Alternative & Indie - Released January 8, 2016 | Domino Recording Co

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Dublin indie folkers Villagers follow 2015's positively received Darling Arithmetic, an album that went to number one in the Irish album charts. Twice shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize, Villagers recorded Where Have You Been All My Life? at London's RAK Studios in one day, the majority of the songs being captured in one or two takes. The band eschewed overdubs or extensive post-production in favor of a more pared-back, intimate sound. ~ Simon Spreyer