VillagersFollowing up a debut album is a stressful thing to do. Following up a debut nominated for the Mercury Prize is probably a thousand times more so. This is the backdrop of Villagers' new album, Awayland, a record following up their critically acclaimed 2010 release, Becoming A Jackal.
Frontman Conon O'Brien has become known for his way with words. A quirky lyricist with a quick wit, his regard for language as a musical tool is a key element in Awayland, with O'Brien slipping from singing to speech on more than one occasion.
Opener, My Lighthouse sees O'Brien's vocals accompanied by a simple guitar progression and occasional harmonies. The song's strength is within its lyrics, in which he slowly spins a sad and beautiful tale (“From the violent moonlight/I am searching the tide/In the vessel, in the storm/You're the kind host in the port.”)
The Waves is a melting pot of different styles. Starting with Morse code beeps and O'Brien's vocals, the song grows into something that sounds like an electronic remix of a Beirut song. Nothing Arrived, on the other hand, is as straightforward a song as could be. With its catchy chorus and memorable melody, it has the greatest potential on the album to become mainstream, but within the context of Awayland it seems a little out of place among O'Brien's other, more abstract tracks.
There isn't enough variation within the second half of the album, however, and the last few songs seem a little unnecessary and very similar. It feels like O'Brien's use of language, something which highlights the better songs in the first half of the album, is eventually the band's downfall.
