Villagers: {Awayland}
Villagers
{Awayland}
(Domino Records)
In 2010, Irish band Villagers burst onto the international scene with the haunting, mysterious, and howling Becoming a Jackal. Frontman Conor O’Brien’s tremulous voice suits his vulnerable lyrics, which are strong enough to have won an Ivor Novello Award.
Three years on, the group has evolved into a stronger entity. {Awayland} is somehow more confident in its frailty, feeling like a solid album with overarching themes. This is so rarely done anymore in music without feeling like a gimmick, and nothing about {Awayland} feels forced. Instead it’s as artful as poetry set to a soundtrack.
For instance, the image of a dog appears repeatedly to stand in for the wild nature and companionship of language. “There is a dog/under this dialogue/obedient only to rhyme,†O’Brien declares on “The Bell,†whereas on “Rhythm Composer,†the dog can either be a controlling depression or a creative boon (“That old black dog is on your back/and if you can tame it, you can get it to sit/so don’t mind itâ€).
Other images of nature abound, particularly around a beach (such as on “The Waves†and “My Lighthouseâ€). Additionally, the characters that appear, whether from O’Brien’s vantage point or otherwise, are all fragmented, but carry on. There’s a sense of hope beyond the struggle, which is put best in the lyrics of “Grateful Song,†where Villagers declare they are “thankful for misery from which we stole this grateful song.â€
This is not just your run-of-the-mill acoustic folk, but something more melodic, something darker, something earthy. This is one of the strongest sophomore records I can remember, and only greater things lie ahead for Villagers.
