Villagers at The Olympia Theatre, Dublin – 21/03/13 Two albums into their critically (and somewhat commercially) acclaimed career, Conor O’Brien and his band of Villagers make a welcome return to Dublin for the first of two sold-out shows in the Olympia Theatre. The last time this reviewer witnessed Villagers live, they were supporting Elbow in Belfast. That was two [...]

The next track to be released from Villagers critically acclaimed second album {Awayland} has been decided and the video all done up for the occasion. The single will be The Bell and will be released on April 5th 2013. The video is awash with vocals flowing from the bands mouths as they sing and animated reactions and events throughout overlaying Conor and [...]

It’s that time again. Last year Meteor’s sponsorship of the Choice Music Prize yielded a new publically decided award to add to the proceedings on the night of the Meteor Choice Music Prize 2012. Last year Royseven walked away with the prize of Song of the Year for their track ‘We Should Be Lovers’. This year the 10 judges and [...]

Villagers debut album ‘Becoming a Jackal’ was never a particularly straightforward listen. It was awkward and angular, both mysterious and mesmorising. All-in-all, it was almost too ambitious for a debut. What Conor O’Brien and Villagers have done on {Awayland} is show us exactly what they’re capable of. It’s an 11-track adventure down the rabbit hole with O’Brien as our guide. [...]

Villagers are on a rampage at the minute, and the new album {Awayland} isn’t even out yet! They are down in Other Voices in Dingle on Sunday 2nd December and it will be broadcast on RTE two for your viewing pleasure. However the bigger news today comes in the form of a second date at The Olympia Theatre due to [...]

More build up to the release of {Awayland}. This time it’s the single to be released on the same day as the album. This is the video for Nothing Arrived which is directed by Alden Volney who also was responsible for the video to The Waves , it documents a day in teh life of one Terrence Bliss, a lonely office worker whose repetitive [...]

Villagers at Whelan’s on November 13th 2012 Rising from the rubble of scene heroes The Immediate, it’s fair to say Villagers‘ debut ‘Becoming A Jackal’ had something of a head start over your typical Dublin band’s first outing. It didn’t need it. The subtle, inventive tones rammed home what we all already knew about Conor O’Brien – he writes unforgettable, [...]

That show in the Olympia Theatre in March looked awful lonely didn’t it! Well good thing we can sort that out right now. Villagers have confirmed that following the release of {Awayland} on Friday 11th January, they will hit the road around Ireland before finishing up with that previously announced show in The Olympia Theatre. Starting on March 14th in [...]

The uniquely special TV music event, Other Voices returns to Dingle in County Kerry on December 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Famous for it’s beautiful surrounds of St. James’ Church and surreal acoustics, showcasing some of the talented acts from home and abroad, this year you will catch sets from Villagers, Paul Buchanan, SOAK, The Unthanks, Aaron Dessner (The National), Local [...]

The build up to that tough second album is certainly easing the wondering of how they can possibly follow up ‘Becoming A Jackal’. First was Waves, which is a charming re-introduction to Villagers. A nice bridge track. Passing A Message continues that gentle evolution to the new album. It is accompanied by a lyric based video directed by Billy Pilgrim. The new [...]