Caught in the Net: A successful return for the Mercury man

Conor O'Brien

Dubliner Conor O'Brien, better know as the man behind Villagers has returned some two years after his debut solo album, Becoming A Jackal, earned a Mercury Prize nomination and an Ivor Novello Award.

Last week, his new single "The Waves" was released on iTunes – with a vinyl pressing to follow in October. An accompanying animated video can be found at youtu.be/Hoha8iET3us – the lo-fi digital graphics of the video mirror the electronic burr of the song's opening moments; O'Brien's delicate vocal kicks in then followed by some lovely trumpets until finally the song explodes into a far more cacophonous affair.

Dan Deacon brings light to the masses

Electronic musician and composer Dan Deacon will play three gigs in the UK this month off the back of his impressively wild new album, America. His live shows are hallmarked by the various ways in which he includes the audience in the performance and for his latest tour he's taking a turn for the digital. A new free Dan Deacon app for smartphones is tailored to be used at the gigs. Its makers claim the app "synchronises all the phones in the room, turning you and the rest of the audience into the light show and sound system for the concert". See a trailer for it at youtu.be/ R8UlLBuzy6Q.

Dreamy French psychedelia

Melody's Echo Chamber is the work of Melody Prochet. On 5 November, Melody's Echo Chamber will release her self-titled debut album on Weird World Records. The Paris-based artist mixes Gallic pop instincts with dashes of psychedelia, dreamy art pop and jangling guitars on opening track "I Follow You", the video for which has just been released. See it at youtu.be/v29I0srhPwg.