“Conor J. O’Brien is as Irish as they come: soft-spoken, given to black moods and flights of literary mysticism, so full of Catholic guilt he probably sweats Communion wine. Villagers’ debut album (on which he plays almost every instrument) opens with a Joycean evocation of paralysis called "I Saw the Dead," and only gets heavier. […]”
“Irish folk-pop artist Conor O'Brien is getting a lot of NPR/mainstream attention for his emotionally nourishing music.”
“On Villagers full-length debut, singer-songwriter Conor O'Brien strings some great songs together, but he makes little to no effort to stop them from drowning in his influences.”
