813. Casanova - The Divine Comedy

A band who I know from some of their early singles and the great album Absent Friends, I have always had a soft spot for their brilliant storytelling and quirky style. Neil Hannon plays all the instruments on their recordings, and is a huge musical talent.

Stylistically, the songs are normally amusing in their content, and take on various musical themes and Hannon obviously is influenced by many genres. Sometimes this can to a slightly sclerotic feel, as the songs are so disparate, as the album doesn't seem to build or grow. Whilst the songs all allude to love in some form or another, it can feel a bit like a concept album without an overall story arc.

The album opener, Something for the Weekend, sets the tone for irreverent yet catchy pop songs with slightly mysterious lyrical content. Whilst being distracted by your lover's preoccupation with what is going on in the woodshed, and this culminating in a mugging, may make perfect sense in the mind, I dare say that it is rather more abstract to the rest of us. The horn section punctuates Alfie perfectly, yet it cannot entirely make up for the slightly thin, and worrying even if ironic, content; "everybody knows that no means yes". The slightly more layered In & Out of Paris & London, complete with excellent phased guitar, combines catchiness with a slightly clearer narrative, and makes a much better song as a result. Charge will get stuck in your head, for better or worse, and the Frog Princess is a rather amusing look at how one's partner can change significantly following the start of a relationship, complete with multiple French references. Songs of Love doubles up as the Father Ted theme song and a well-observed piece about song-writers composing pieces about love and passion, whilst sitting on their own in flats.

Overall, I ended up wanting to like this album more than I did. It is undoubtedly clever, and well written, but it is less than the sum of its parts, as well as having some rather annoying moments, such as Theme from Casanova and the waltzy yet ploddy Woman of the World. I find Neil Hannon's later work, Absent Friends, a far, far superior album, with a maturity that pushes it out of more comedic observations and catchy tunes. 

Chloe's rating: 6
Chloe's favourite track: 7. The Frog Princess
Olly's rating: 5
Olly's favourite track: 4. In & Out of Paris & London

Next week's album is 414. Public Image by Public Image Ltd, also known as what Lydon did after the Sex Pistols.