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Oct 15, 2018O’Brien isn’t afraid to tackle heavy subjects (there are songs about self-doubt, faith and even a tribute to 19th century mathematician Ada Lovelace), but it’s all pushed through with a real lightness of touch that means that it’s easy to give The Art Of Pretending To Swim plenty of repeat listenings.
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Sep 24, 2018There's an intricate balance struck between analogue and digital, between raw confession and meticulously engineered sonic detail.
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Sep 21, 2018Villagers fans will no doubt love this record, which has the capacity to obtain a new fanbase with O’Brien’s newly found sound.
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Sep 21, 2018It remains to be seen whether The Art Of Pretending To Swim will gain Villagers hoards of new followers, but fans of the Irish five-piece will put their fourth record right up there with their best.
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Sep 20, 2018The Art of Pretending to Swim is Villagers’ most assured, and daring, album.
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Sep 20, 2018This is a songwriter who has mastered his craft and now has applied a frivolity to his record and the outcome is the most essential release to date.
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MojoSep 17, 2018The Dubliner's fourth album of original material is his most varied sonically, yet is perversely his least fussy, happy to let a simple melody be carried by his distinctively sweet, slightly prim diction. [Oct 2018, p.84]
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Sep 17, 2018Much like Villagers’ previous releases, the overriding feeling is of well-crafted, thoughtfully structured songs. The intimacy created by O’Brien’s delicate voice is as ever enhanced by beautifully chosen tonal colours.
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Q MagazineSep 17, 2018It's an impressive reminder of what made him so special in the first place. [Oct 2018, p.119]
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Sep 17, 2018The Art of Pretending to Swim is an album that will reveal itself after a few listens.
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Sep 21, 2018By all accounts, The Art of Pretending to Swim is a remarkably encompassing record for a group that has been lauded as exclusively one genre of music. O'Brien and company prove that folk music is an emotive device, a way of describing a certain atmosphere, a moment in time, or place on the seaside.
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Sep 21, 2018The Art of Pretending to Swim is a strong example of how one man with an unlimited number of tracks to fill can create a compelling and revealing collection of songs. If this doesn't always sound like what one would expect from Villagers, its emotional impact shows that it's clearly O'Brien's work.
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UncutSep 17, 2018All up, it's a quiet knockout. [Oct 2018, p.37]