Villagers today announce some new Irish dates for December which will see gigs in the Empire Music Hall, Belfast on 10th | Dolans, Limerick on 12th | Black Box, Galway on 13th and The Set Theatre, Kilkenny on 14th.
Ahead of that Villagers will perform at Other Voices Ballina in September and headline Metropolis Festival on 27th October.
Villagers’ new album ‘The Art of Pretending to Swim’ will be released on 21st September and was written, produced, mixed and primarily performed by Conor O’Brien in his Dublin studio.
The new single ‘Fool’ was released last week, watch the video directed by Bob Gallagher here.
Watch the previously shared video for ‘A Trick Of The Light’ here.
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 Arithmeti’c), 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 forthcoming Paulo Sorrentino Berlusconi biopic ‘Loro 2’) and Villagers’ Spotify session of ‘Nothing Arrived’ has hit over 100 million streams.
Villagers Irish Dates
28-29th September – Other Voices, Ballina
27th October – Metropolis Festival, Dublin
Mon 10th December – Empire Music Hall, Belfast
Wednesday 12th December – Dolans, Limerick
Thursday 13th December – Black Box, Galway
Friday 14th December – Set Theatre, Kilkenny
Tickets www.wearevillagers.com/live
‘The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ is available to pre-order on Domino Mart-exclusive deluxe LP (includes 10” of a 12-minute version of ‘Ada’ and B-side ‘This Is The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ plus signed lyric booklet), Deluxe LP (includes ‘Ada’/’ This Is The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ 10”), Standard LP, CD and Digitally. Pre-order: Dom Mart | Digital
