| The Art of Pretending to Swim | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 September 2018 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:21 | |||
| Label | Domino | |||
| Villagers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Art of Pretending to Swim | ||||
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The Art of Pretending to Swim is the fourth studio album by Irish band Villagers. It was released on 21 September 2018 under Domino Recording Company. [2]
On 12 June 2018, the band announced the release of their new album, along with the single "A Trick Of The Light". [2]
The second single "Fool" was released on 20 August 2018. [3]
The third single "Again" was released on 10 September 2018. [4]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 77/100 [5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Clash | 8/10 [6] |
| DIY | [7] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10 [8] |
| Exclaim! | 5/10 [9] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 8/10 [10] |
| Loud and Quiet | 6/10 [11] |
| MusicOMH | [12] |
| NME | [13] |
The Art of Pretending to Swim was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 77, based on 15 reviews. [5] Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 75 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 15 reviews. [14]
Mark Deming from AllMusic wrote about the album: "This music feels warmer and more naturalistic than his earlier experiments with one-man recording, and there's a gentle swing in the rhythms that suggests he's been listening to some smooth R&B lately. [The album] is a strong example of how one man with an unlimited number of tracks to fill can create a compelling and revealing collection of songs. [1]
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rough Trade | Top 100 Albums of 2018 | 95 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Again" | 4:28 |
| 2. | "A Trick of the Light" | 4:08 |
| 3. | "Sweet Saviour" | 4:36 |
| 4. | "Long Time Waiting" | 5:09 |
| 5. | "Fool" | 3:18 |
| 6. | "Love Came With All That It Brings" | 5:29 |
| 7. | "Real Go-Getter" | 3:25 |
| 8. | "Hold Me Down" | 4:38 |
| 9. | "Ada" | 6:10 |
| Chart (2018 | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [16] | 64 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [17] | 31 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [18] | 116 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [19] | 76 |
| French Albums (SNEP) [20] | 175 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [21] | 55 |
| Irish Albums (OCC) [22] | 2 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [23] | 21 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [24] | 48 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [25] | 28 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC) [26] | 4 |
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