Villagers are an Irish indie folk band and the musical project of the sole long-term member, Conor J O'Brien who is a singer-songwriter based in Dublin, Ireland.
In 2015 Conor released Villagers' third album, Darling Arithmetic, and the following year Where Have You Been All My Life?—a compilation of live reworkings of some of the band's best-known tracks.
Villagers have extensively toured in Ireland, UK and Europe, and have made several visits to play in the United States, Japan, Canada and Australia.
[1] O'Brien's time as a guitarist in Cathy Davey's band was also critical to the development of his style as he had never before performed alongside anyone outside of The Immediate.
[7] The Irish Times's Jim Carroll recommended their performance in the Body Soul Arena at Electric Picnic 2009 as "A must-see for those who dig ragged pop, eerie folk and heartfelt, emotional songs and sounds".
[9] They headlined Hard Working Class Heroes in 2009,[10] with O'Brien attracting the ire of the audience when he requested some quiet during the performance.
While at the time the name of the album wasn't announced, the details for {Awayland} were released soon afterwards alongside news of a headline tour in February 2013.
A second single, "Nothing Arrived", was also announced in December 2012 with a release date set for 14 January 2013 in conjunction with the launch of {Awayland}.
[32] Whilst on tour supporting {Awayland}, the band debuted two new songs; "Occupy Your Mind" and "Hot Scary Summer".
[33] As part of Record Store Day 2014, a limited edition clear 7" vinyl version of "Occupy Your Mind" was released.
In March 2015, when promoting the band's upcoming album and tour in Ireland, O'Brien spoke to GiggingNI.com about the songwriting process on Darling Arithmetic as well as addressing love and the issue of homophobia.
In August 2018 new album The Art of Pretending to Swim was announced for a 21 September release and new song, FOOL and accompanying music video was unveiled.
[36] On 15 August 2019, the band played at Leith Theatre as part of the Edinburgh International Festival's contemporary music programme.
[1] He spoke of feeling inspired after attending one of their early shows, at a time when he himself had just won the Choice Music Prize.
[49] The Irish Times placed them at number six in a list of "The 50 Best Irish Acts Right Now" published in April 2009,[50] commenting: "from what we’ve heard and seen live so far, Villagers generate the type of music (sparse, eerie, casually dishevelled, tangibly cool) that will spread beyond the confines of niche appreciation into a great blue yonder".
[51] Becoming a Jackal was nominated for the Mercury Prize on 20 July 2010,[52][53][54][55][56] with the judges describing it as "a record of great charm and mystery".
[59] In May 2011 Villagers frontman Conor O'Brien won the award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically – the most prestigious of the Ivors – for the group's track "Becoming A Jackal".