Villagers - {Awayland}

Stompbox

Very surprised not to have seen a mention of this release on the forum so here goes.

Just on my first full playback; my God, Conor O'Brien must be the most talented musician this country has produced in years. I thought the first Villagers album had a clutch of stunning tunes which were offset by some perfunctory neo-folk ramblings but this album is in a whole new dimension. The musical eclectism on display here is astonishing. The standout so far is 'The Bell' but I'll report back once I've had a few more listens.

Pudsy33

I totally agree with your assessment. Holy mother of God it's brilliant. The second track, earthly pleasures I think it's called, had me scratching my head thinking what the fcuk? In the best possible way. The man is stupidly talented.

Corholio

On the first few listens now, it's really good however there's 1 or 2 not great songs, 'In A Newfound Land..' for one, and not getting into 'Grateful Song' much either. But it might grow more after a few listens.

Temaz

Few listens in and it's far better than his excellent debut. this kid is talented.

SilverScreen

I liked it on first listen, however it seemed to trail off a bit towards the end. There's definitely a wider array of influences and styles on this album which is good to hear. Giving it a second listen now and hopefully it will grow on me more.

pinksoir

Spotify link. I'm in work so can't listen, but I'm looking forward to later on!

http://open.spotify.com/album/4fD1uoU05A4d9A7sb2YcCr

pinksoir

I've only listened once, but my first impression is that this record is not bad, but not great either. There are definitely some enjoyable enough songs; 'Earthly Pleasure' is good with an interesting lyrical idea; 'The Waves' is good too; '{Awayland}' is a nice interlude; 'In a Newfound Land You Are Free' is a really great song, arranged and produced just right.

The whole record sounds really really good. There are tons of little incidental production ideas that really add to things. And there are some lovely arrangements of songs. Not to mention the musicianship on show; it's just expertly executed. I love the way the piano can come in and soak the whole track, almost engulfing it before backing away. The strings are often gorgeous. And the little electronic elements and glitches add to the sound greatly. I love the closeness of Conor's voice, saliva clicks and all. And there are a few moments when he's put back a bit further in the mix, or wettened with reverb, and these moments work really well in contrast to the up-closeness of the vocal in general.

But, and this is a huge but, you can't make a record relying totally on sound. There has to be songs. And unfortunately, the vast majority of melodies on this album are unmemorable. The one song that does have a strong melody is 'Nothing Arrived' but it feels like well trodden ground if I'm honest. And there are no really great lyrics; nothing that made me smile, go "hmmm", or introduced me to a new way of seeing something. There are a few good lyrical ideas alright, but that's it. I found myself reaching for the skip button when songs were coming to a close much too often, and there seemed to be a tendency to make the song build up at it's end and then leave us hanging. When that technique is used well it can be great, but when it's overused it quickly becomes tired. in fact, when any technique is overused it becomes tired, which is why the best things about this record are little spontaneous flourishes or production ideas that work through contrast.

Overall, the album seems to lack any sort of centrepiece or focus. I kept expecting to be wowed by the next song, but the wow never came. Instead I left feeling a bit flat and underwhelmed. I was much more impressed by, and indeed drawn to, the production and overall sound of the record than I was any songwriting or lyrics, which for obvious reasons is not a good thing.

I honestly expected a lot more from this record.

Corholio

pinksoir wrote: »

I've only listened once, but my first impression is that this record is not bad, but not great either. There are definitely some enjoyable enough songs; 'Earthly Pleasure' is good with an interesting lyrical idea; 'The Waves' is good too; '{Awayland}' is a nice interlude; 'In a Newfound Land You Are Free' is a really great song, arranged and produced just right.

The whole record sounds really really good. There are tons of little incidental production ideas that really add to things. And there are some lovely arrangements of songs. Not to mention the musicianship on show; it's just expertly executed. I love the way the piano can come in and soak the whole track, almost engulfing it before backing away. The strings are often gorgeous. And the little electronic elements and glitches add to the sound greatly. I love the closeness of Conor's voice, saliva clicks and all. And there are a few moments when he's put back a bit further in the mix, or wettened with reverb, and these moments work really well in contrast to the up-closeness of the vocal in general.

But, and this is a huge but, you can't make a record relying totally on sound. There has to be songs. And unfortunately, the vast majority of melodies on this album are unmemorable. The one song that does have a strong melody is 'Nothing Arrived' but it feels like well trodden ground if I'm honest. And there are no really great lyrics; nothing that made me smile, go "hmmm", or introduced me to a new way of seeing something. There are a few good lyrical ideas alright, but that's it. I found myself reaching for the skip button when songs were coming to a close much too often, and there seemed to be a tendency to make the song build up at it's end and then leave us hanging. When that technique is used well it can be great, but when it's overused it quickly becomes tired. in fact, when any technique is overused it becomes tired, which is why the best things about this record are little spontaneous flourishes or production ideas that work through contrast.

Overall, the album seems to lack any sort of centrepiece or focus. I kept expecting to be wowed by the next song, but the wow never came. Instead I left feeling a bit flat and underwhelmed. I was much more impressed by, and indeed drawn to, the production and overall sound of the record than I was any songwriting or lyrics, which for obvious reasons is not a good thing.

I honestly expected a lot more from this record.

I agree with a lot of this, especially the skipping parts of the songs bit. However I don't like 'In A Newfound Land...' at all. I think in parts the album is overproduced, like Conor's voice never sounds better than when it's against a soft guitar and minimal backing instruments, but even when that happens at times it's not as good as it was on the first album.

seachto7

@pinksoir

Interesting and very good synopsis of this record, which could be applied to pretty much every album that is released. I think this is a good way of really really analyzing an album. It comes down to the songs, good production should be a bonus.

pinksoir

There are a lot of records where the sound is as big a part of the songs as the songwriting itself, but I don't think Conor O'Brien operates in that way, nor do I think he should. As Cornholio said, the record seldom is better than when it's just his voice against an acoustic backing. That's not to say he shouldn't try new things, but first and foremost the focus should be the songs.

I was really impressed by the Father John Misty record last year. Reason being, the songwriting and lyrics are really strong. More than that though, the production is amazing and it sounds beautiful. I go back to that record over and over again. Like you say, the production is a nice bonus. Contrast that with the Tame Impala album which I was immediately impressed with production wise, but save for a few key songs left me a bit bored. Especially after a few listens. The staying power of an album, for me, is strong songwriting. That's the field I thought and expected COB operated in, which is why this album was a real let down for me. It's not a bad record by any means. Just not great.

seachto7

This is it, there are lots and lots of "good" albums being released, but not lots of truly "great" albums...
I guess it's all subjective.

kunst nugget

I think an awful lot of that has to do with the amount of time we give albums now. Pre-internet, you might have given the album a couple of weeks before fully writing it off and moving on. Now, you might give it a couple of days or a couple of hours. A lot of times, you have to engage with great albums as much as they engage to get the most out of them, if you get what I'm saying. Not saying this is a great album either. I haven't listened to it enough to make up my mind and I'm not sure yet if there is enough in it to distract me from my internet porn and funny cat pics.

midlouth

Thoroughly enjoyed the album, got to see him test out a few of the songs in the spirit store last May so had a fair idea what to expect. I like his courage to try new things, I don't think there is as much raw emotion as was captured in the first album. It comes across as if he is a much better place, not so many highs and lows.

emo72

kunst nugget wrote: »

I think an awful lot of that has to do with the amount of time we give albums now. Pre-internet, you might have given the album a couple of weeks before fully writing it off and moving on. Now, you might give it a couple of days or a couple of hours. A lot of times, you have to engage with great albums as much as they engage to get the most out of them, if you get what I'm saying. Not saying this is a great album either. I haven't listened to it enough to make up my mind and I'm not sure yet if there is enough in it to distract me from my internet porn and funny cat pics.

thats very interesting and true. one album i remember from the 80s Fleetwood Macs' "Tango In The Night", it was instantly likeable and drilled into your brain.

but i soon tired of it, it was sickly sweet, too saccharine and i couldnt stomach it now.

moral of the story. if you like it instantly, you'll soon tire of it.

midlouth

Other Voices on RTE TWO tomorrow night featuring The Villagers, repeated from around Christmas.

Ormus

The debut album by the XX was the prime example for me.

Great sound, instantly attractive, but the songs all failed to materialise.

Still a cool album but doesn't bear repeated listening.