Rating: 
Villagers is the namesake for Irish songwriter Conor O’Brien, and the release of his album Becoming a Jackal is every bit as glorious as early hype might have lead us to believe. While the backing band for this project relies upon subtleties, Conor’s voice serves as the key instrument from which you will fall in love with his work.
Album opener “I Saw the Dead” begins your journey with a haunting piano line whilst O’Brien recounts his visions of seeing the dead. It’s your first glimpse of his storytelling, which definitely has a more poetic leaning than a lot of modern lyricists. You immediately find yourself immersed in his visions, precisely as the songwriter wants. Then you find yourself at the title track following the frailty of O’Briens voice, and at this point you can’t help but to recall similar tonality shared with Zach Rogue. It’s the proper choice for a single, although it might not be the song that portrays all of Conor’s strengths.
Entering “Ship of Promises” you start to notice a bit of a waiver in the vocals, something that should remind you of early Bright Eyes works (Fevers and Mirrors in particular). Villagers succeeds in this arena due in part to the steady percussion that lines almost all the tracks on this collection, but you’ll find the vocals wrapping you up in Becoming a Jackal. For instance, the fragility exposed during “The Meaning of Ritual” when O’Brien claims “my love is selfish/it cares not who it hurts” allows you to forgive the emotions being expressed here. Not many songwriters can still accomplish that feat by voice alone.
Those of you looking for variance in songwriting will surely appreciate the juxtaposition of styles throughout the record, allowing you to move amidst the songs without finding yourself bogged down by monotony. “The Pact” has sort of a rollicking guitar line that lends itself to the more modern side of singer/songwriter genres, though careful orchestration places emphasis in precisely the right place, especially the organ that seems to grown for the duration (ed.-I’d love to see what Mike Mogis could do with this guy). Yet its placed alongside “Set the Tigers Free,” a song that relies more upon the effect of barroom crooners. There’s a slight bit of swing to the song, perhaps aided by the tropicalia accent in the guitar work. One must surely appreciate the movement within Becoming a Jackal, as many songwriters have succumbed to the pitfalls of the profession.
“Twenty Seven Strangers” probably is one of those tracks that I’d include on mixtapes for the rest of the year. It features a polite strumming, and a bit of an echoing hum serving as a semi-chorus. O’Brien’s vocal delivery is so calm and focused that encourages you to sneak inside yourself in order to appreciate the narration. And, when his voice finally rises in the middle of the song, its clear that he’s constructed another wonderful track. Such is the work of a great songwriter.
You’ll find yourself pressing repeat often during your listening experience with Becoming a Jackal. It seems that each song has something different to offer, whether that be the approach to songwriting or to the emotional reward for the listener. Villagers debut reminds us all that occasionally someone gets it so right that we can’t ignore their work. Conor O’Brien’s promising (and ultimately rewarding) album will surely serve as that reminder in 2010.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Becoming-A-Jackal.mp3]
Download: Villagers – Becoming A Jackal [MP3]
Long ago I raved about Becoming a Jackal, an album by Villagers that I think a lot of people really overlooked. But, now they’re back with a brand new single that is scheduled to come out on October 22nd, and with a recent tour with Grizzly Bear, I think they might finally start to break into the big time. “The Waves” is every bit as dramatic as the earlier output from the band, but this one has a different approach. For me, this tune utilizes the electronic production as its backbone, and the emphatic beauty ensues. I just picked this up on iTunes, so you too can grab it early if it suits your fancy.
