After recently returning from a sold-out UK and European tour, Villagers today announce a show for next summer, with special guest Aldous Harding, at Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens on Friday 12 July. Tickets go on sale this Thursday 13 December at 9am from Ticketmaster.
The new single ‘Sweet Saviour’ is out now.
Villagers’ acclaimed new album ‘The Art of Pretending to Swim’, released in September was written, produced, mixed and primarily performed by Conor O’Brien in his Dublin studio.
Watch the videos for ‘Fool’ here and ‘A Trick Of The Light’ here, both directed by Bob Gallagher.
Following the exquisitely sparse, intimate aura of 2015’s Darling Arithmetic, Conor O’Brien’s new record reconnects with the multi-faceted approach of Villagers’ 2010 album debut ‘Becoming A Jackal’ and 2013’s {Awayland} while adding a new-found soulfulness, rhythmic nous and dazzling panoply of sonic detail, both analogue and digital, creating feverish moods while writing effortlessly accessible tunes. Balanced with subtle aspects and lyrical themes that embrace existential fears and hopes in this desperate, technologically-centred dystopian age, ‘The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ is the most brilliantly realised Villagers album to date.
O’Brien has a string of accolades under his belt including two Ivor Novello Awards (the most recent being 2016’s Album Award for ‘Darling Arithmetic’), two Mercury Music Prize nominations and is also a previous winner of Ireland’s Choice Music Prize.
Additionally, Villagers’ music recently featured in the high profile HBO drama ‘Big Little Lies’, Conor has collaborated with the composer Nico Muhly (that track featuring in the recent Paulo Sorrentino Berlusconi biopic ‘Loro 2’) and Villagers’ Spotify session of ‘Nothing Arrived’ has hit over 120 million streams.
This date will be New Zealand artist Aldous Harding’s debut Irish performance.
Best Kept Secret Aldous Harding is finishing her third studio album. Igniting interest with her eponymous debut album released just two years ago, Aldous Harding quickly become a name murmured on many lips, known for her charismatic combination of talent, tenacity and shrewd wit. The album drew attention and accolades from some of the most illustrious corners of the music industry, receiving 4 stars in MOJO and Uncut, while UK blog The 405 hailed her a “toweringly talented song writer”. The upcoming recording reunites her with John Parish (PJ Harvey, Sparklehorse) with whom she worked on her acclaimed second album “ Party”. Released in 2017, “Party” catapulted Harding onto the world stage, featuring on numerous end-of-year polls and was named Rough Trade Shops “Album of the Year” www.aldousharding.com/ | twitter.com/aldousharding |youtube.com/channel/UCvYnfuCRhq6PRYK2MltekXA
Villagers Online:
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Tickets for Villagers at Iveagh Gardens priced €39.50 go on sale this Thursday 13 Dec at 9am and will be available from:
All Ticketmaster Outlets Nationwide, Credit Card Bookings 0818 719 300 (ROI) / 0844 277 4455 (NI), Online at www.ticketmaster.ie
