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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]
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Sep 19, 2018The Art of Pretending to Swim is never less than pleasant, and there are no bad songs here. But it's only intermittently interesting because O'Brien's vocals and melodies are mostly just okay.
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Sep 18, 2018The inevitable has caught up with O'Brien, who finds himself struggling to stay afloat on The Art of Pretending to Swim. The self-produced record dives into murky waters in an ambitious attempt to incorporate an electronic flair to an already complete set of folk tunes.