Villagers must be the most compared band around at the moment. Read any review and you will see them equated to Sparklehorse, Bright Eyes, Neil Young, Tindersticks, Leonard Cohen, Steps and The Frames (one of those might not be quite accurate), which is great company to keep, but does the band a disservice. Yes, fans of most of those acts will find something to love about the brooding, melodic Villagers back catalogue, but they are very much their own band too.
See for yourself – here’s the title track of the first album:
They earned rave reviews and Mercury nominations for their first two albums, Becoming a Jackal and {Awayland}, which will be followed up this month by a third long player, the hotly anticipated Darling Arithmetic. Expect to hear old favourites alongside highlights of the new material when they tour the UK this month. Here are the dates:
Tue 14 Apr – St George’s, Bristol
Wed 15 Apr – Princess Pavilion, Falmouth
Thu 16 Apr – Exeter Phoenix, Exeter
Fri 17 Apr – The Old Market, Brighton
Sun 19 Apr – The Epstein Theatre, Liverpool
Mon 20 Apr – RNCM Concert Hall, Manchester
Tue 21 Apr – City Varieties, Leeds
Thu 23 Apr – The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
Fri 24 Apr – The Gate Arts Centre, Cardiff
Sun 26 Apr – The Glee Club, Nottingham
Mon 27 Apr – Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh
Tue 28 Apr – Oran Mor, Glasgow
Find out more at the official Villagers website and remember to keep checking the Dad Gigs section of this site to find out the gig each month that is worth booking a babysitter for.
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