Villagers – {Awayland}

Villagers – {Awayland}

A striking and introspective second album from Villagers, {Awayland} expands the songwriting vision of Conor O’Brien into richer, more expansive sonic territory. Building on the intimate folk foundations of their debut, the album introduces layered arrangements, subtle electronic textures, and a more experimental sense of structure - while retaining the emotional clarity that defines O’Brien’s writing.

Themes of disconnection, wonder, and modern existential unease run throughout, with songs that drift between the personal and the philosophical. “Nothing Arrived” stands as a centrepiece of understated beauty, while “The Waves” and “Earthly Pleasure” showcase the band’s ability to balance melodic warmth with lyrical ambiguity. The title track, “{Awayland},” acts as a conceptual pivot point - brief, atmospheric, and quietly transformative.

At once reflective and forward-looking, {Awayland} captures Villagers in a moment of artistic expansion, where folk songwriting meets a more cinematic, experimental palette.

Tracklist:

1. My Lighthouse
2. Earthly Pleasure
3. The Waves
4. Judgement Call
5. Nothing Arrived
6. The Bell
7. {Awayland}
8. Passing A Message
9. Grateful Song
10. In A Newfound Land You Are Free
11. Rhythm Composer