Fantastic new album from the ex Del Amitri front man and a worthy follow up to What Is Love For! Just had the chance for a couple of quick run through but some superb material on this album which has much more of a band feel.
Standout tracks for me are
A Man With Nothing To Do
Cant Let Go Of Her Now
As Long As You Don't Come Back
It is just a superb record with great lyrics, brilliant playing......cannot recommend this highly enough.
Debut album and tour during May. Dont know much about them other than this from the myspace page:
‘Villagers’ began life as a nameless collection of musical poems, all under the pen of one Conor J. O’Brien. “Ultimately, I’ve learned that a song is not an isolated thing. You have to wash the dishes before you write a song. It should never be taken too seriously. It must be treated with joy and humour, regardless of the subject matter,” muses Conor, as he strokes his hairless chin.
But I must admit I had serious reservations about his latest project, a song play about Imelda Marcos with many collaborations. My fears were totally unfounded as the music and vocals from the guest artists is just superb.
The 2CD set deserves a proper review and I look forward to pulling something together soon.
In the meantime here is a sampler of the album as a stream, and I would point you in the direction of the magnificent Steve Earle track "A Perfect Hand".
Van is currently playing a smattering of shows across USA and Europe, far from a tour as such and there are only 2 UK outdoor dates. Pity as the set;ists and Band are both excellent: