In next week's issue of Hot Press, our man Edwin McFee meets Villagers' Conor J. O'Brien, who chats about his much-anticipated sophomore album, the follow-up to 2010's excellent Becoming A Jackal.

Conor explains that the album, due out next year, is all but done; "We haven’t mastered it yet", he says, "but it’s all finished. We’re gonna go to London to master it at the end of the month, and I’ve a feeling I’m going to be dragging over synthesizers and setting stuff up in the mastering suite – which is ridiculous! I can’t really stop until someone tells me to."

He continues; "There’s a reason why it’s taken this long and the reason is – everything has to be right. I think I’ve worked even more on this one than the last one, which I didn’t even think was possible after I finished Becoming A Jackal, but I’ve got the grey hairs to prove it this time round.”

Villagers have been performing taster tracks like ‘Earthly Pleasures’ from the album at recent gigs, including June's Body & Soul festival. He's all geared up for an Electric Picnic visit too - “I’m so looking forward to the Picnic,” he says. “I feel like we’re kinda veterans. It’s nice to come back with a new palette, you know? We’re playing on Saturday and we’re on right before The Roots in the same tent, which is awesome. I can’t wait. I definitely want to catch them for a bit. I think they’re going to be great.”

Read the full interview with Conor in next Thursday's issue of Hot Press.