Villagers Share Propulsive Revitalizing Track AGAIN

With the release of The Art Of Pretending To Swim nearing closer - out Sept 21st via Domino - Villagers also reveal a new track 'Again'. The album's opener, it belies its acoustically finger-picked origins as it builds steadily over a propulsive 808 kick drum, ultimately becoming a Moog-soaked epic of a tune and an exploration of self-renewal: "I've found again a place in my heart again / For God again in the form of Art again."

Following the exquisitely sparse, intimate aura of 2015's Darling Arithmetic, Conor 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.

Watch the previously shared videos for 'A Trick Of The Light' and 'Fool' - both directed by Bob

Gallagher.

O'Brien has a string of accolades under his belt including two Ivor Novello Awards (the most recent being 2016's Album Award for Darling Arithmetic), two Mercury Music Prize nominations and is also a previous winner of Ireland's Choice Music Prize. Additionally, Villagers' music recently featured in the high profile HBO drama 'Big Little Lies', Conor has collaborated with the composer Nico Muhly (that track featuring in the forthcoming Paulo Sorrentino Berlusconi biopic 'Loro 2') and Villagers' Spotify session of 'Nothing Arrived' has hit over 100 million streams.

TOUR:

2018

Mon 24th Sept - Banquet Records, London

Tues 25th Sept - Rough Trade East, London **SOLD OUT**

Wed 17th Oct - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham

Thurs 18th Oct - Garage, Glasgow

Fri 19th Oct - Gorilla, Manchester **SOLD OUT**

Sun 21st Oct - Wardrobe, Leeds

Mon 22nd Oct - O2 Academy 2, Oxford

Tues 23rd Oct - Hackney Arts Centre, London **SOLD OUT**

Thurs 25th Oct - Arts Club, Liverpool

Sat 27th Oct - Metropolis Festival, RDS, Dublin

Tues 30th Oct - Trinity, Bristol

Wed 31st Oct - Old Market, Brighton **SOLD OUT**

Thurs 1st Nov - La Madeleine, Brussels

Sat 3rd Nov - Zoom, Frankfurt

Mon 5th Nov - Vega, Copenhagen

Tues 6th Nov - Gruenspan, Hamburg

Thurs 8th Nov - Kesselhaus, Berlin

Fri 9th Nov - Hybrydy, Warsaw

Sat 10th Nov - Futurum, Prague

Mon 12th Nov - Doornroosje, Nijmegen

Tues 13th Nov - Melkweg (Old Hall), Amsterdam

Wed 14th Nov - Trabendo, Paris

Fri 16th Nov - Le Boucau, Biarritz

Sun 18th Nov - Kafe Antzokia, Bilbao

Mon 19th Nov - Chango, Madrid

Tues 20th Nov - Razzmatazz 2, Barcelona

Thurs 22nd Nov - Ridotto Teatro Regio, Parma

Fri 23rd Nov - Spazio 211, Turin

Sat 24th Nov - Port-Franc, Sion

Mon 26th Nov - Papiersaal, Zurich

Tues 27th Nov - Kulturkirche, Cologne

Wed 28th Nov - Tivoli Vredenburg, Utrecht

Mon 10th Dec - Empire Music Hall, Belfast

Wed 12th Dec - Dolans, Limerick

Thurs 13th Dec - Black Box, Galway

Fri 14th Dec - The Set Theatre, Kilkenny **SOLD OUT**

2019

Thurs 28th Feb - The Roundhouse, London

Fri 1st March - Cathedral, Manchester

Sat 2nd March - Wylam Brewery, Newcastle

Tickets will go on general sale Fri 14th Sept

Stream 'Again' here

Watch the visualiser for 'Again' here

Photo credit: Rich Gilligan

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