The Divine Comedy – Foreverland (Divine Comedy
Records)
LP
/ CD / DL
Out
Now
8
/ 10
There can be
little doubt as to Neil Hannon’s credentials when he continues to release
albums of the quality of Foreverland, the projects eleventh longplaying release. A vastly underrated songwriter known for his
comical overtones perhaps but also an incredibly talented orchestral arranger,
who along with ABCs Lexicon Of Love (or, Lexicon Of Love 2 if you prefer), offers
a wry sense of humour and is often coupled with some gorgeous backing.
Hannon will
always be remembered for classics like National Express and Something For The Weekend, and the nerds
amongst us will also remember that he wrote the theme tune to Father Ted as
well as recording a couple of albums about cricket as The Duckworth Lewis
Method, but Foreverland once more proves that he is far from a one-trick
pony. On his first album for six years
he continues to give songs of quite brilliant beauty with several chuckles
along the way.
Album opener,
Napoleon Complex whilst not entirely a new track (it originally appeared in a
less effective version as a bonus track on Bang Goes The Knighthood) is a
reminder of the prowess of Hannon as a songwriter. With lines that always bring a smile like
opener ‘Who pulls the strings, who makes the Deals? Stands five foot three in
Cuban heels’, the clear direction is never without doubt, but Hannon is much
more than a writer with a comedic twist.
Capable of
some rather lovely stuff too as with the title track, which includes a male
voice choir, a heartfelt love song of wanting and regret it is maybe worthy of
greater adulation on a bigger stage.
Sadly the bigger stage of the recent Bowie At The Proms was a big of a
damp squib, it held such great promise and Neil’s versions of Station To
Station and This Is Not America became two of very few show savers.
Recent single
Catherine The Great is nothing short of classic Divine Comedy – perfectly
constructed, historical accuracy, humour, catchy wordplay, choir and brass
interlude all wrapped up in a fabulous orchestral pop arrangement. A duet with partner Cathy Davey on Funny
Peculiar is one of several songs featuring Neil’s real-life love interest and
has echoes of Something Stupid as it bounces along with little more than piano
and acoustic guitar as backing.
Starting with
the sounds of a donkey (or an ass?) How Can You Leave Me On My Own is once more
superbly written with some terrific rhyming couplets as well as a rock guitar
making the occasional appearance. The Divine
Comedy may not be to everyone’s taste but the undoubted originality and uniqueness
of the act cannot be denied.
My Happy
Place is again a lovely piece of classical pop before A Desperate Man once more
shows the bonkers side of Hannon.
Effects that sounds like honking horns in the style of Cuban dance and
lines like ’I made a daring escape in the guise of a nun’ doing more to confirm
the fact. Foreverland is twelve tracks
of one of today’s finest and most underrated songwriters, and possibly one of
The Divine Comedy’s best albums. Miss at
your peril.
No comments:
Post a Comment