Vinyl Record

Villagers - The Art Of Pretending To Swim

Villagers - The Art Of Pretending To Swim album cover

Villagers - The Art Of Pretending To Swim on LP vinyl. A 2018 record available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel, Ireland.

LP ยท 2018

Available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel.

Buyer notes: 2018 LP, currently available from the Kilmorna Collection vinyl shelf. Pay for pickup in Listowel or ship within Ireland for EUR 5.50.

The Art Of Pretending To Swim is Villagers in 2018, with Conor O'Brien turning spiritual doubt, desire and wonder into music that feels both handmade and digitally illuminated. After the intimacy of Darling Arithmetic, this fourth studio album widens the frame again, but it does so with unusual softness: loops, bass pulses, gospel-tinted backing voices, woodwind, electronics and acoustic songwriting all move around O'Brien's careful vocal centre. A Trick of the Light opens the record with one of his most generous melodies, while Fool, Again, Real Go-Getter and Long Time Waiting explore faith, self-deception, love and the strange little rituals people use to keep going. The album's title catches its emotional method perfectly. These songs are about staying afloat while knowing the water is real, and they make that struggle sound graceful, curious and quietly radiant rather than heavy-handed.

It matters because it shows Villagers integrating the private lyricism of O'Brien's writing with richer rhythmic and electronic textures. The album broadens the project's sound without losing its moral attention, giving A Trick of the Light and Fool a warm place in the catalogue.

For collectors, this is the Villagers album where the post-Darling Arithmetic intimacy opens into a more layered studio language. Its attraction is the 2018 Domino chapter, the spiritual-pop atmosphere and the balance between precise songwriting and gentle experimentation.

Indie folk and art-pop with warm electronics, soft bass movement, acoustic guitar, close vocals, gospel shades, woodwind detail and meditative lyrics about belief and longing.

Recommended for: Collectors following Conor O'Brien's Villagers evolution; Listeners who like intimate songwriting with electronic warmth; Fans of A Trick of the Light, Fool and reflective Irish indie pop.

When was The Art Of Pretending To Swim released? Villagers released The Art Of Pretending To Swim in 2018 through Domino. Which songs introduce the album best? A Trick of the Light, Fool, Again and Long Time Waiting show the album's mix of melody, spirituality and subtle studio texture. How does it differ from Darling Arithmetic? Darling Arithmetic is spare and home-recorded in feel, while The Art Of Pretending To Swim adds loops, richer rhythms and a more luminous art-pop palette.