Description
Label Review.
2018 album also available in CD.
Our Overview.
Always restless and inventive while remaining true to the power and glory of songwriting and melody, Conor O’Brien has made another great leap forward with Villagers’ fourth studio album, ‘The Art Of Pretending To Swim’, released by Domino.
Following the exquisitely sparse, intimate aura of 2015’s ‘Darling Arithmetic’, 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.
The album was written, produced, mixed and primarily performed by Conor O’Brien in his Dublin studio.
Conor won a prestigious Ivor Novello Award for his last studio album, ‘Darling Arithmatic’. His music was also recently featured in critically acclaimed HBO series ‘Big Little Lies’. He has also worked on the upcoming Paul Weller album.