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Track Listings
| 1. My Lighthouse |
| 2. Earthly Pleasure |
| 3. The Waves |
| 4. Judgement Call |
| 5. Nothing Arrived |
| 6. The Bell |
| 7. {Awayland} |
| 8. Passing a Message |
| 9. Grateful Song |
| 10. In a Newfound Land You Are Free |
| 11. Rhythm Composer |
Product Description
Product Description
Awayland is the follow up to the Mercury-nominated and Ivor Novello Award winning debut by Villagers, Becoming a Jackal. Engineered, produced and mixed at Attica Audio in Donegal by Conor J. O'Brien and Villagers guitarist Tommy McLaughlin.
Review
When your debut album bags a Mercury Prize nomination, expectations for its follow-up are going to be raised. Villagers’ Becoming a Jackal set of 2010 was an alternately arresting and disturbing release more than worthy of its place on the Mercury list, a showcase for Irish singer-songwriter Conor O’Brien’s sensitive croon and dark way with words.
The mood this time round is tangibly different. Seemingly more of a collective effort (O’Brien lauds the musicianship of his band members in the accompanying notes), the angelic harmonies of opener My Lighthouse, or the gently lulling “ooh”s of the otherwise instrumental title track endow the music with a new lightness.
Strings mimic the ebb and flow of a tide on Grateful Song, reflecting a general loose atmosphere of the sea also created with the album’s lyrical references to “the barrier reef” (The Waves), the singing of sea birds (Nothing Arrived), a “paddle fish” (Passing a Message) and In a Newfound Land You Are Free’s lovely description of how “the windows reveal the spinning sea”.
The macabre does occasionally bare its fangs, but this time round it’s restricted to the odd glancing reference that makes you do an aural double take. The delicate My Lighthouse mentions skinning a corpse (of a ghost); Grateful Song describes a God of “pain… tragedy… hatred and deceit… of a hapless, helpless agony”.
Later, the twist of In a Newfound Land You Are Free – ostensibly a touching ballad to a newborn – seems to suggest that the baby has died: “I am burned by a lifetime too brief / With this newfound land comes a newfound grief.”
The evocative lyrics sometimes suffer from overly mannered or just overdone phraseology – O’Brien’s use of “thee” instead of “you” (The Lighthouse) or “for to” instead of “to” (Grateful Song) jars slightly – and the vocal enunciation is sometimes a little oppressive in its intimacy. But these are ultimately prices worth paying for the pleasingly poetic, adventurous and occasionally florid use of words that mark Villagers out as one of the more interesting, literate and imaginative storytellers of recent years.
--Jude Clarke
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By robotfish
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was only slightly persuaded that the Villagers were any good by the first album. I really enjoyed Ship of Fools & Becoming a Jackal & The Meaning of the Ritual, but thought the album as a whole lacked a bit of heart & soul.
I was subsequently knocked out by a performance at the Borderline in London, the songs sounded alive. Plus we got to hear much of this new collection - most of which sounded wonderful.
Now I have the CD, and it mostly is wonderful. The songwriting is assured, the melodies are naggingly good and the playing is great. I still think there is a lack of something soulful herein, but have no doubt that Conor O'Brien is making his way slowly towards creating a masterpiece. He certainly has the talent.
I was subsequently knocked out by a performance at the Borderline in London, the songs sounded alive. Plus we got to hear much of this new collection - most of which sounded wonderful.
Now I have the CD, and it mostly is wonderful. The songwriting is assured, the melodies are naggingly good and the playing is great. I still think there is a lack of something soulful herein, but have no doubt that Conor O'Brien is making his way slowly towards creating a masterpiece. He certainly has the talent.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Conor J. O'Brien is a fine song writer. No doubt about it. Villagers' 2010
album 'Becoming A Jackal' was a quietly menacing and thoroughly engrossing
affair. The kind of stuff which gave you the shivers in a very nice way.
Their new release 'Awayland' opens up a few new avenues. The sound, though
still substantially acoustic in nature, has thickened and gained in complexity
without losing any of its immediacy and appeal. Take 'Earthly Pleasure', for
example, a dense brew of crashing guitar, brutal percussion and shivering
strings, together with the kind of memorable chorus which has you reaching
for the repeat button the moment it's over; or perhaps the almost jaunty 'The
Waves' with its energetic quasi-caribbean rhythms and the superb 'Grateful
Song', with its uplifting sense of breadth and drama, to witness the artistic
development of an artist firing on all six creative cylinders. There are some
wonderfully simple moments too : 'In A Newfound Land You Are Free' is the kind
of song which you'll be drawn back to again and again for its gorgeous melody
and perfectly focused piano accompaniment and restrained vocal performance.
So early on in the New Year Villagers may well have delivered one of 2013's
musical highlights. It fully deserves our undivided attention and applause.
Highly Recommended.
album 'Becoming A Jackal' was a quietly menacing and thoroughly engrossing
affair. The kind of stuff which gave you the shivers in a very nice way.
Their new release 'Awayland' opens up a few new avenues. The sound, though
still substantially acoustic in nature, has thickened and gained in complexity
without losing any of its immediacy and appeal. Take 'Earthly Pleasure', for
example, a dense brew of crashing guitar, brutal percussion and shivering
strings, together with the kind of memorable chorus which has you reaching
for the repeat button the moment it's over; or perhaps the almost jaunty 'The
Waves' with its energetic quasi-caribbean rhythms and the superb 'Grateful
Song', with its uplifting sense of breadth and drama, to witness the artistic
development of an artist firing on all six creative cylinders. There are some
wonderfully simple moments too : 'In A Newfound Land You Are Free' is the kind
of song which you'll be drawn back to again and again for its gorgeous melody
and perfectly focused piano accompaniment and restrained vocal performance.
So early on in the New Year Villagers may well have delivered one of 2013's
musical highlights. It fully deserves our undivided attention and applause.
Highly Recommended.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By middle earth
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ok. I have waited and waited for the villagers to bring out this album. I pre ordered it as soon as amazon advised it was coming out.
I prefer having hard copy CD's so had to wait a week until it arrived in NZ. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely.
This is a great follow up and easily up there with becoming a jackal. Conor J O'Brien is sheer genius. Tough to pick a favourite track
but hard to get Nothing Arrived out of my head. With this CD something certainly did arrive.
I prefer having hard copy CD's so had to wait a week until it arrived in NZ. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely.
This is a great follow up and easily up there with becoming a jackal. Conor J O'Brien is sheer genius. Tough to pick a favourite track
but hard to get Nothing Arrived out of my head. With this CD something certainly did arrive.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By JonBanner
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Over the first few listens Awayland has grown from a strong 3-4 stars to an absolutely guaranteed 5. Like all great albums it has hidden depths and guarantees longevity by unveiling itself over several listens. As the title suggests, seeing this performed live at the Leadmill in Sheffiled on Friday enhanced my enjoyment of a superb and varied collection of songs. I really believe this should go one further than Becoming a Jackal and win the Mercury music prize.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:MP3 Download|Amazon Verified Purchase
Had high hopes for this. Their previous album, becoming a jackal was one of the best albums I've heard in years so I guess it was a hard act to follow. It's not awful but is doesn't have the acoustic, mellow sound throughout it. There are a couple of tracks that sound like b sides or songs that were originally instrumentals that have been re worked with vocals for an album. Earthly pleasure is plain awful. I still like the album but with becoming a jackal I could listen to the whole album on repeat and enjoy all of it. With this, I find myself skipping quite a bit. There's a bit too much repetition in a few of the tracks. It feels more like early crowded house whereas baj had lots of influences in it. There are still a few good tracks on it so maybe I'm being a bit harsh but I was blown away by their previous effort so its just disappointment I guess. Sorry, its just a personal thing. I'm still pleased to have both albums in my collection but feel away land might have been harder work for the band. Still worth a purchase though.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:MP3 Download
Fantastic, they've really expanded since Becoming a Jackal, delving into the relms of electronica with a twist of funk and jazz. Only on my first listen but my favourites so far... My Lighthouse, The Waves and Passing a Message. Sublime!!
By paul
Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase
I originally brought the album because I love the track the 'Bell' which had been getting lots of airplay on radio six. With a couple of plays of each side I now love it all! It is just so well crafted.
By John Sanders
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Purchased this on the strength of "The Bell". A marvellous track constantly played on 6 Music.
However apart from that and " Nothing arrived" "The Waves" and "My Lighthouse" Nothing else really stands out.
I do though look forward to hearing more from them, as I suspect there is better to come. Perhaps it's time for me to buy their
first album which is highly rated..
However apart from that and " Nothing arrived" "The Waves" and "My Lighthouse" Nothing else really stands out.
I do though look forward to hearing more from them, as I suspect there is better to come. Perhaps it's time for me to buy their
first album which is highly rated..
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
CD
Present for son. Just what he wanted Did not listen to it myself. Good value for money and good quality
Published 20 days ago by Joan Bithell
5.0 out of 5 stars
class album
one of the best albums I have listened in ages, on par with their first album, becoming a jackal. Awayland is 9 out of 10 music..
Published 2 months ago by Stephen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
Purchased it before seeing the group live; absolutely astonishing. Genuinely fantastic album, would reccommend to anyone. Great songs and the vocals are spectacular.
Published 2 months ago by Aaron Eccles
3.0 out of 5 stars
errr...
I was expecting a lot from this new Villagers CD. I had loved the previous one for it's intensity, the sound and the fresh songs. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Philippe Desaegher
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyed immensely.
Grear lyrics and great tunes make this a must have album. Was only £5 via amazon mp3 download app.
Fantastic!
Fantastic!
Published 2 months ago by T. Lill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelous
A wonderful 2nd album. I was expecting more of their first album's sound to be present yet, barring the first track, it's a complete departure. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Wd Chuck
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awayland
Had never heard of this band, until they were on the radio immediately bought cd am now an addict. Great
Published 3 months ago by mrs patricia brown
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply wonderful
This album is a thing of beauty, raw emotion reaching from every song. Conor o'Brien wonderful talent. Read more
Published 3 months ago by DiscoCC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awayland Hits Home
This is a spellbinding collection of songs from the brilliant mind of Conor O'Brian, translated into an ever evolving collection by his collaborators. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Andrew Chapman
3.0 out of 5 stars
A long time coming - and not entirely worth the wait.
I first became acquainted with Villagers in mid-2011 and was lucky enough to see them perform in Placa del Rei in Barcelona in September of that year - and coincidentally I'm off... Read more
Published 4 months ago by pandachris
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