Prior to forming Villagers, O’Brien had been in the avant-garde rock quartet The Immediate, before their disbandment in 2007. With only two rehearsals under their belt and set list composed entirely by O’Brein, Villagers’ debut performance arrived in 2008 with a show alongside The Chapters at Dublin Wheelan’s. The band’s debut release, the EP “Hollow Kind”, was issued in February 2009 and drew comparisons to Johnny Flynn, Eugene McGuinness, and Conor Oberst. The EP’s four tracks were all composed and recorded by O‘Brien and was supported by opening for Neil Young and Tracy Chapman.
With a growing appeal and a need to fill huge spaces with sound, O’Brien enlisted the help of Tommy Mclaughlin, Danny Snow, James Byrne and Cormac Curran. On top of Villagers touring with Neil Young and Tracy Chapman the group made appearances at a number of festivals in 2009 including Latitude, Oxegen, Indie-pendence, and Electric Picnic.
O’Brien’s debut album “Becoming a Jackal” was issued by Domino Records in 2010 to across the board critical acclaim. The record earned a nomination for the 2010 Mercury Music Prize, and the titled track won O’Brien the coveted Ivor Novello Best Song Musically and Lyrically award in 2011. After the release Villagers embarked on an extensive tour including dates in the U.S., an appearance on “Later… with Jools Holland, and shows at Meltdown, London, Electric Picnic, and Reading and Leeds Festivals.
In 2011 the group released the 12” vinyl “Live at the Workman’s Club”, which features O’Brien playing acoustically with minor piano accoutrements. Following a tour in support of Grizzly Bear at the tail-end of 2012, Villagers released their sophomore album “{Awayland}” in January 2013. Led by the single “The Waves”, “{Awayland}” reached No. 1 in the Irish Albums chart and No. 16 in the UK Albums chart, and was supported by a headlining tour.
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