Search - Divine Comedy :: Absent Friends Pt.2

The Tenperance Seven meet Noel Coward meet Scott Walker

Mr. Thomas Thatcher | Salisbury, UK | 01/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This unusual CD is very much a grower, as other reviewers have rightly said and as always with growers, you end up liking the least user-friendly songs best. First, Neil Hannon's voice dominates the proceedings - stating the bleedin'obvious, you may say - but it is a most unusual voice constantly challenged and egged on by some of the equally extraordinary and original arrangements and orchestrations. As a result, Neil's offerings can no longer be called pop music or even anything like it, with such oddities as a bass bassoon in "Happy Goth", a purely string backed song in "Our mutual friend", an almost music-hall setting for "Charmed Life" and God knows what for the instrumental "Laika's theme".



Neil Hannon can really really sing, and he gets those notes: sometimes, as you may guess from the heading, the whole thing reminds me of a much more thoughtful and emotionally charged Temperance Seven, fuelled by Whispering Paul McDowell's 20s voice and Joseph Kronk's exceptional arrangements.



The obvious "quickies" are "Absent Friends" and "Come home Billy Bird", the first sounding like a mad canter through the Big Country with a cast of Neil's unlikely characters and the second a light-hearted romp about a sad middle manager waking up drunk after a Belgian businmess meetinmg and trying to catch his plane home to see son's match. Very good, almost poppy but not quite. "Happy Goth", about the lonely adolescent girl locked in her inarticulacy, costume and attitude, listening to something awful like Nirvana, is deeply affecting in its portrayal of complete communication breakdown ("that's what she would say, if she ever talked to you")- and it features the bass bassoon: knighthoods all round. I know a young girl like this and she is also lovely inside and out - but her beautiful self has almost sunk to screaming point under the loneliness and image. Desperately sad. "The Wreck of the Beautiful", Neil's frightening ghostly allegorical tale of a ship rusting to death, is just outstanding and shows a complete maturity of thought, writing, singing and arrangment - beyond all doubt one of the best two or three things he has ever produced. The same is true of "Sticks and stones" ("you and I go together, like the molar and the drill") about romantic breakdown and of "Leaving today" about Dad leaving home and all the heartache involved. Bye bye, bye bye.



"Our mutual friend", a witty story about being gazumped over a girl by the mutual friend (another refernce to Noel Coward) who introduced them, is a musical storm with the staccato strings and then a wall of emotion at the end, is great and so is "Freedom Road" which I find very chilling. It's built around one guitar clawhammer chord, except that orchestrations give it another new dimension of almost fear and a whole new chord sequence. "Laika's theme" is an odd instrumental that will not be to everbody's taste, but "Charmed Life", a genuine thanks to arriving at a happy state, includes the tribute line "Breaking up is so very hard to do" - nice touch!



I suppose that any other "band" would have had 5 stars for this very odd and deeply moving work, but Neil is such a one-off that he has to be judged agaist himself, really. Make no mistake, you will play this until the laser guide disappears and it is incredibly good, well thought out and beautifully played (just get the bass and strings on Charmed Life).



When Neil Hannon gets a universal five stars there will not really be any competition left in this field, and there's very little as it is. Worth every penny of your money and this will stick with you for life, I guess. Excellent, unique - but also unsettling and chilling at times. Music isn't always fun, gang."

*raises glass*

yeng | rizal, the philippines | 08/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm just held by amazement that whatever Neil Hannon sets out something to do, he does it very well. He has never really failed even in a single occasion--even on the atmospheric Brit-rock of "Regeneration", which is also a wonderful album--and now he returns to the old form (as the others had said) with his latest opus, "Absent Friends".



Each of The Divine Comedy albums is touting the same basic influences (Scott Walker et al), but otherwise carrying a different style, tone, theme, and feel, and "Absent Friends" is no exception. On this album, musically it presents another totally different motif: American Western, which Neil and co. surprisingly pull off so well--conpiscuously heard on the opening title track, "Come Home Billy Bird", and "Our Mutual Friend", which boasts a full, vibrant stringwork, and the Midwestern-ish perspective of "Freedom Road", where Neil talks about life in the cross-country, with the familiar pick-up trucks and stuff. I can even hear a lot of banjoes on "My Imaginary Friend" and the charming closer "Charmed Life",--you think that they might sound out of place with the characteristic TDC style, but no... it sounds otherwise fantastic! Sometimes you can't mistake the downbeat "Regeneration" strains still lingering on such tracks as the heart-rending "Leaving Today" and the eerie "The Wreck Of The Beautiful", which pretty feels like a suicide note or something to that effect--but fascinating nevertheless (just don't play that in the dark--it creeps me out!).



Of course, what has largely inspired "Absent Friends" is Neil's family life. The lyrical cad of old has grown up and is now a dad, but his knack for writing witty lyrics hasn't tarnished a bit--in fact its ambers are still burning, so to speak. That's the usual problem of other musicians who have left their supposedly 'exciting' lives and enter marriage and parenthood, and their so-called creative matter has just begun to go downward from that moment on. But not so here. Whether Neil talks about the peculiarities of childhood ("My Imaginary Friend"), the ambiguities of adolescence ("The Happy Goth", with lyrics like "And her face is whiter than the snows of Hoth/She wears Dr. Martens and a heavy cross/ But on the inside she's a happy goth"), and moments of parenthood ("The Happy Goth" again, the catchy pop song of "Come Home Billy Bird", and the heart-tugging "Charmed Life"), he tackles them all successfully without sounding corny or small. I also like "Sticks and Stones" boasting lyrics like "You and I go together/ Like the molar and the drill/ Flesh is weak but darling we know/ That the ego's weaker still" (ooohhh!) and "Our Mutual Friend", a tale of betrayal which always makes me think it's a cross between "Something For The Weekend" and "The Frog Princess". Great stuff.



Overall, a brilliant, poignant, wonderful album which has lost none of the old Divine Comedy charm... simply, another masterpiece from Neil! And I'm still held by amazement..."

Best Divine Comedy record? Yes!

J. Holmes | yokohama, japan | 10/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"after the Regeneration album, i wasn't sure what to expect from this new Divine Comedy album. the band that i had initially fallen in love with, had drastically decided to change their style; going from charming and bombastic pop with a dramatic flair, to a more moody and slightly Radiohead-ish kind of sound.

i found myself beginning to like their newfound sound, but i missed the charm of the older material. now with the brilliantly titled "Absent Friends", Neil Hannon and company seems to have found the perfect balance between the charm and the mood. "Leaving Today" and "The Wreck Of The Beautiful" are some of the most achingly gorgeous melodies that have ever seen the light of day. these songs are like the kind of pop songs that Erik Satie might have written if he were a pop star. really affecting and haunting. and it's so so good to have the humor back in the lyrics. i really missed the wit in such lines like "you and i go together like the molar and the drill" from "Sticks And Stones." there are so many great and classic songs on this album that if i were to go through them all, it would just be non-stop gushing. so suffice it to say, this is my favorite Divine Comedy album and a great place to start if you're the slightest bit curious about this wonderful and irresistable band. and is it just me, or does the song "Freedom Road" sound just like another song? i cannot place it. is it a cover? hmmm..drives me crazy everytime i hear it. oh well... Absent Friends is a perfect album full of priceless orchestral moody pop songs that are truly unforgettable. listening to this, i can finally appreciate the previous album, Regeneration even more now; because it's the stepping stone to this unrivaled greatness."