Adding to the potential of their upcoming album, Awayland, Villagers have announced the release of their latest single, Nothing Arrived. With a great bitter bitter video, Conner J. O’Brien’s ever-present dark lyrics and a catchy folk heart, it’s another hint at an epic new album in 2013.
Following on from Awayland’s amazing first single release, The Waves, Nothing Arrived drops with even more disquiet. Where The Waves experiments brilliantly with electro-Caribbean sounds, the latest single takes Villagers in enshadowed folk directions, adding to the potential of the new album to improve on their debut, Becoming a Jackal, which picked up a Mercury Prize nomination and scooped the Ivor Novello award.
The videos for both of the singles have been directed by Alden Volney, and the results are very different, but equally class. The animated freak out style of The Waves has given way to a sad day-in-the-life tale for Nothing Arrived. It’s a great reminder to get out and live life, while delivering an empathetic spotlight on the people that struggle with it all.
Nothing Arrived will be released in conjunction with Awayland on the 14th January 2013, and all signs are pointing to an impressive return from the Irish band. Recorded at Attica Audio in Donegal by lead singer O’Brien and guitarist Tommy McLaughlin, it builds on the band’s indie-folk style.
The new sounds are a welcome addition, giving the band much wider scope to work with, which is evident in abundance in the wild finish of The Waves, which should sound amazing live.
Villagers will also be taking their new material on the road in early 2013 with a UK tour in February.
