Villagers

Anonymous and faceless

Villagers is essentially the project of Conor J. O'Brien, its only long-term member. He had fronted the Immediate and played guitar in Cathy Davey's band. He said he wanted the most anonymous, faceless name he could. The first live show was in November 2008, supporting the Chapters at Whelan's with two rehearsals and seven songs. The EP Hollow Kind came out on Any Other City in February 2009 and the debut single "On a Sunlit Stage" in October 2009; the Irish Times ranked them sixth in its April 2009 list of the 50 best Irish acts. They toured with Tracy Chapman and supported Neil Young.

Becoming a Jackal (May 2010, Domino) was number 1 in Ireland and 66 in the UK, topped the UK indie chart and was a Mercury Prize nominee; the title song won the 2011 Ivor Novello for best song musically and lyrically. They played Later... with Jools Holland in April 2010, Meltdown in London in June, toured with Tindersticks and in March 2011 with Elbow. {Awayland} (January 14, 2013) and Darling Arithmetic (April 2015, written, recorded, produced and mixed by O'Brien at home) both reached number 1 in Ireland; Darling Arithmetic won the 2016 Ivor Novello for best album. The Art of Pretending to Swim (September 21, 2018), Fever Dreams (August 20, 2021) and That Golden Time (May 10, 2024) followed, with the live album Where Have You Been All My Life? in 2016 and The Sunday Walker EP in 2019. Fever Dreams made 2021 year-end lists at Mojo, Hot Press and the Irish Times. They played the Roundhouse in October 2021 with Paul Weller.