VILLAGERS + OWEN PALLETT – CORN EXCHANGE, BRIGHTON 25.11.24
Indie folk band Villagers is the musical project of award-winning Irish songwriter and dramatist Conor O’Brien, accompanied by a fluid lineup of collaborators. The 2010 debut album ‘Becoming A Jackal’ garnered considerable critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. With lyrics that are thoughtful to the point of being philosophical, and obsessively honed melodies, the material seems closer to the great songwriters of the 1960s, such as Leonard Cohen or Paul Simon, than to today’s mainstream pop. With releases consistently topping the Irish charts and placing high in the UK and northern Europe, and a million monthly listeners on Spotify, the prizes and plaudits, which include two Ivor Novello Awards, are clearly justified. The current tour is in celebration of the sixth studio album ‘That Golden Time’, released on 10th May 2024. Tonight’s show at Brighton’s Corn Exchange, organised by Lout Promotions, is the third date on an itinerary taking in the UK and Ireland.
The Corn Exchange is part of the Brighton Dome complex, and is a Grade I listed timber structure, originally built in the early 1800s as a column-free indoor riding room for the Prince Regent. A recent refurbishment has exposed the beams of the vertiginously high roof span and the massive arched windows on the side walls, and it’s now a beautifully impressive space for gigs and concerts, with a standing capacity of around 1,200.
Tonight’s support act Owen Pallett entertains us with a fine set of songs built on layers of intricately looped violin and guitar, described more fully below, and at 8:45pm it’s time for Villagers.
Conor O’Brien starts the set solo, with an acoustic guitar, taking the stage to warm and enthusiastic applause. Compact of stature, he’s a big presence in the room, exuding a twinkling-eyed charm. His voice has a plaintive quality, and the jangling arpeggios he wrangles from the instrument are simply gorgeous. Opener ‘Passing A Message’ is an immediate departure from the printed setlist, and there are delightful chord changes in ‘I Want What I Don’t Need’, a single taken from the current album. The sparse arrangement showcases the dark beauty of the lyrics, with Conor stomping his foot on the stage for emphasis:
“There’s a fairytale we call ‘Free Will’. It was funny then, and it’s funny still, and at the heart of it lies an endless greed, because we want what we don’t need.”
Conor is joined on stage by keyboard player Kevin Corcoran, who plays seated at a Roland A-88 midi controller, and supplies a rhythmic piano accompaniment to ‘You Lucky One’, another recent single. It’s a meticulously crafted piece, with a haunting vocal, and spine-tingling hooks. If I was ever in a position to be handing out songwriting prizes, this would definitely be on the shortlist. A wash of red light enhances the vibey ‘Everything I Am Is Yours’, before a third player, Brendan Jenkinson, takes the stage to add washes of synth and swirling atmospherics to the sweeping chords of ‘Ada’. By way of introduction, Conor informs us that the song is about Ada Lovelace, a mathematician and associate of early computing pioneer Charles Babbage. Ada realised that Babbage’s ‘Analytical Engine’ had applications beyond mere calculation, and devised what we would now consider a computer program, paving the way for the algorithms that so dominate our lives today. Conor mischievously describes the song as “a hate letter”.
“Algorithm blues” also feature in ‘That Golden Time’, the title track of the current collection. The rest of the band take the stage, with Danny Snow providing gently sliding bass riffs and Brendan Doherty’s drum fills languidly tumbling around the toms. Keyboardist Brendan has switched to what looks like a bass clarinet, as the band glides through an immensely satisfying descending progression that supports a mournful reminiscence of a mythical time: “Before the keepers of the gate revoked your ticket to the land, where eloquence was still in date and everything was cash-in-hand.” Another cracker from the current album, the tinkling keys and reedy clarinet of ‘Brother Hen’ soon morph into an expansive soundscape that frames another wittily acerbic lyric.
Conor introduces the band at the end of ‘Love Came With All That It Brings’, another brilliant piece with razor-sharp wordplay. I’m rather taken with the line: “just as the fat lady sings we want more”. The singer is particularly animated during the big sound of ‘The Waves’, running on the spot and hopping onto the bass bins. Current single ‘Mountain Out Of A Molehill’, which doesn’t feature on the album, has a lilting rhythm and a big build, and I enjoy the strummed stomp of ‘Occupy Your Mind’. A keyboard figure hangs hauntingly over the arpeggios and gentle shuffle of ‘Dawning On Me’, and ‘That Day’, from the debut album, gets a particularly warm reception from the crowd.
Forthcoming single track ‘A Matter Of Taste’ features some striking bass clarinet, and is the last song of the set with the band. Conor remains on stage, and introduces us to his guitar, an Emmanuel Stone custom that he has named Laurel. “I like to rest on him,” the singer quips wittily, whilst trying to get Laurel in tune. “He’s being a bit of a f*cker at the moment, though.” To end the set we get a solo cover of Baker Knight’s ‘The Wonder Of You’, originally recorded by Ray Peterson and made famous by Elvis Presley. The audience members do a fine job adding a surprisingly tuneful mass backing vocal, and the enthusiastic cheering at its conclusion prompts some well-deserved encores.
I have been hugely impressed with tonight’s performance and the quality of musicianship and songwriting on show. If you’re not familiar with Villagers, I would strongly recommend checking out their fine catalogue of works.
Villagers:
Conor O’Brien – vocals, acoustic guitar
Kevin Corcoran – keyboards
Brendan Jenkinson – clarinet, bass clarinet, keyboards
Danny Snow – bass guitar
Brendan Doherty – drums
Villagers setlist:
‘Passing A Message’ (from 2013 ‘Awayland’ album)
‘I Want What I Don’t Need’ (from 2024 ‘That Golden Time’ album)
‘You Lucky One’ (from 2024 ‘That Golden Time’ album)
‘Everything I Am Is Yours’ (from 2015 ‘Darling Arithmetic’ album)
‘Ada’ (from 2020 ‘The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ album)
‘That Golden Time’ (from 2024 ‘That Golden Time’ album)
‘Brother Hen’ (from 2024 ‘That Golden Time’ album)
‘Love Came With All That It Brings’ (from 2020 ‘The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ album)
‘A Trick Of The Light’ (from 2020 ‘The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ album)
‘The Waves’ (from 2013 ‘Awayland’ album)
‘Mountain Out Of A Molehill’ (a 2024 single)
‘Occupy Your Mind’ (a 2014 single)
‘Dawning On Me’ (from 2015 ‘Darling Arithmetic’ album)
‘That Day’ (from 2010 ‘Becoming A Jackal’ album)
‘A Matter Of Taste’ (forthcoming single)
‘The Wonder Of You’ (Ray Peterson cover)
(encore)
‘Nothing Arrived’ (from 2013 ‘Awayland’ album)
‘Courage’ (from 2015 ‘Darling Arithmetic’ album)
‘So Simpatico’ (from 2021 ‘Fever Dreams’ album)
Support tonight is from Owen Pallett, a singer, composer and violinist from Toronto who has previously worked with Arcade Fire, scored numerous films, and provided string arrangements for a host of pop and rock acts. The solo performance makes extensive use of looping pedals, building rich layers of violin, guitar and voice. It’s an intricate business, and I admire anyone who can keep multiple loops under sufficient control to form a coherent song. The performer’s boots have been removed to better operate the array of pedals involved. What you don’t want in a loop though is a bum note, and a waywardly fretted guitar figure in opener ‘Paragon Of Order’ necessitates some hasty back-pedalling. Nonetheless, it’s an excellent piece, with a gorgeous violin section, and the vocal reminds me a little of the style of John Grant. “A good set should raise a couple of mistakes,” Owen quips, ‘fessing up to the error. “You need an element of humiliation.”
I’m equally impressed with ‘Fire-Mare’, with ringing guitar arpeggios underpinning nicely layered vocals that give the effect of singing a round (remember ‘Frère Jacques’ in junior school?). Everything but the kitchen sink goes into ‘The Great Elsewhere’. With another looped arpeggio underway, the guitar capo is moved down a tone to record a counterpoint, before adding plucked and bowed violin, and more vibey guitar. The next song, introduced as “brand new”, has a “Can you tell?” lyrical motif, and an effective percussion track generated by thumb tapping the violin body.
It’s an excellent set of expansive and atmospheric pieces, using only voice and the two instruments. I like the damped guitar chug of ‘Lewis Takes Off His Shirt’, which builds inexorably, the violin alternating smooth legato with brisk staccato strokes. This has been an interesting and particularly enjoyable start to the evening.
Owen Pallett setlist:
‘Paragon Of Order’ (from 2020 ‘Island’ album)
‘Fire-Mare’ (from 2020 ‘Island’ album)
‘The Great Elsewhere’ (from 2010 ‘Heartland’ album)
“New Song” (unreleased)
‘Song Song Song’ (from 2006 ‘He Poos Clouds’ album)
‘E Is For Estranged’ (from 2010 ‘Heartland’ album)
‘Lewis Takes Off His Shirt’ (from 2010 ‘Heartland’ album)
‘This Is The Dream Of Win & Regine’ (from 2005 ‘Has A Good Home’ album)
