Among my back-log of e-mails was a message from one of the the video producers behind Watch Listen Tell, an independent music channel that features up-and-coming bands.
As timing would have it, I managed to log on to their channel a few hours after they'd uploaded this gorgeous video of Villagers' Conor O' Brien performing an acoustic rendition current single 'Becoming a Jackal', from their critically acclaimed album of the same name:
Also worth checking out is this video of Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club performing a stripped-down version of their recent single 'Something Good Can Work':
'Becoming A Jackal' is the first video from Conor O' Brien's Villagers since he signed with Domino Records.
Conor and his band are headed to Austin, Texas later in the month for the SXSW Festival. If the rest of the new material is as strong as this, I suspect he'll cause something of a stir.
My favourite show at last year's Dublin Fringe was Cathy Davey's 'Songs That Scare Children (But In A Very Beautiful Way)', which, as well as being a cracking night of entertainment, served as an introduction to the abundant talents of Lisa Hannigan, David Turpin and a young man called Conor O' Brien, who performed 'Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep':
Former lead singer of The Immediate, Conor had been somewhat off the radar since the band split since 2007. However, when his new musical venture, Villagers, was earmarked as ones to watch in various 'tips for 2009' lists by music gurus towards the end of last year, he was nudged back into the limelight.
I was lucky enough to interview Conor earlier this year and, like any good journalist, I did my research and checked out Villagers' 'Hollow Kind' EP. As much as I liked the tracks, I don't think I was fully able to appreciate Villagers' brilliance until catching their live set on the Sunday morning of Electric Picnic a couple of weeks ago.
Now, after seeing Conor perform a pared down acoustic set in the Spiegeltent, almost exactly a year after first seeing him there, I've developed a fully-fledged obsession with the man and his indie-folk balladry.
Villagers are playing a string of Irish dates over the next few weeks and Conor will also be doing a couple of solo shows (details here). I implore you to catch at least one of the gigs and allow Villagers to soothe your soul. [Image: Enda Doran]
Among my back-log of e-mails was a message from one of the the video producers behind Watch Listen Tell, an independent music channel that features up-and-coming bands.
