Villagers arrive in Oxford after a period of considerable success. Conor O’Brien’s Irish indie folk band have been nominated twice for the Mercury Prize – in 2010 for their first album, Becoming a Jackal, and this year for their tricky second, {Awayland}. On tour, Villagers have supported such icons as Grizzly Bear, Elbow and even Neil Young. The O2 crowd seems to mark these achievements by respectfully bobbing to familiar material. But, as befits a Sunday night gig and maybe also this genre, the audience is contented rather than ecstatic, the performances solid but conventional.

Villagers greatest strength lies in the song-writing of their lead, O’Brien. His lyrics are observant, heartfelt, teasing and ‘Earthly Pleasures’, with its rapid-fire lines and semi-spoken verses works particularly well tonight.  O’Brien’s voice feels freshest when he positions himself as storyteller or troubadour, drawing on a long tradition of Irish lyricism (he holds a degree in English literature). The more forgettable tracks are those which orchestrally swoop and swoon away from their folk roots. Villagers second album is more produced than the first and this shapes the band’s sound. O’Brien needs to be commenting wittily on the road – not in the middle of it. Becoming a Dublin Coldplay might bring commercial success, but it is not the direction this Oxford crowd seems to want the band to take.

Commentators have previously praised Villagers ability to fill a room with ‘a sense of eerie disquiet’. Such a mood never prevails tonight. There is a sing-along to ‘Judgement Call’ with a hint of electronica and the single ‘Nothing Arrived’ feels sunny more than melancholy. But, after a summer of festivals for the band and a full week ahead for the audience maybe neither side wants to be unsettled on this occasion. This is a cosy, comfortable concert to the converted. On stage, O’Brien eschews a pint. Instead, at the end of each song, he sips from a mug of tea.