Villagers – Becoming A Jackal (Domino)
4/5
By: Chalky
This is the debut album from singer songwriter Conor J. O’Brien, who performs under the name of Villagers. Conor achieved his initial brush with fame playing guitar and singing in the Irish indie pop band The Immediate until their split in 2007.
Slightly dark song titles such as the opening ‘I Saw The Dead’ and the title track give you the initial impression that all is not happy go lucky with this album, and indeed this is fairly true. I certainly wouldn’t describe it as bleak, more a sombre current of tales of heartbreak and loneliness with somewhat of a playful twist.
Recently performed on UK music show Later...with Jools Holland, ‘Becoming a Jackal’ is the most obvious single with its softly sung catchy chorus of “I was a dreamer/ Staring at windows/ Out on to the main street/ Cos that’s where the dream goes.” Conjuring up echoes of Paul Simon and Elliott Smith, this song is nothing short of sublime, and by far my favourite track.
Conor’s voice is probably the most important and interesting instrument on this album. His clearly spoken and reassuring tone has you believing every word he sings. Combine this with his lively and at times slightly over dramatic poetic imagery and the more intense songs such as ‘I Saw The Dead’ and ‘Pieces’ really do come to life (pardon the pun.)
There are occasions where the lyrics are stretched perhaps one rhyming couplet too far for my liking, but that really is my only real gripe at what is an otherwise incredible debut album. Watch out for lots of covers by Conor O’Brien wanna-be’s on YouTube – as sad eventuality, but only a matter of time.
Artists in this article: Villagers
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