Like wine, music improves with age. And Conor O’Brien’s matures well. From the Malahide coast, where the Irishman composed his first three albums on his farm, to the hubbub of Dublin, the villager has changed his scene. Much like his album. After Becoming a Jackal, Awayland and Darling Arythmetic, three soft pop-folk albums, the songwriter with ice-cube eyes has released The Art Of Pretenting To Swim. O’Brien has read the Pro Tools manual for a shorter album length (44 minutes) and much more elaborate detail. We find simple poems (A Trick Of The Light) where the Irishman sings “We are the dawn, we carry the sun”, while he tells of the conflict between blinding faith and mathematical reason on Ada. With his string arrangements (Ada) which are more reminiscent of The Clientele than Damien Rice, beautiful electro (Real Go-Getter), soul (Long Time Waiting), brass (Love Came With All That It Brings), soft synths (Sweet Saviour) and a warming voice, the opus is addictive and unpretentious. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz