Fin De Siecle - Divine Comedy

Some people felt that The Divine Comedy lost their way with this album. Some people don't. But what is absolutely certain is that they made one hell of a journey with it, trespassing on the classical music world and fusing a classical orchestra (The Brunel Ensemble) with their own band and superimposing Neil Hannon's baritone tones. Couple that with the acerbic irony and sarcasm that will have you rolling on the floor with sides totally split, and marvelling at the incredible lyrical ability of the man, and it's hard to be able to criticize this album for taking steps that other bands do not dare to take! True enough, the concept of fusing two styles ...

I really hope this is not a taste of things to come.... This is probably the weakest of their albums so far. There are some corkers on this album - Commuter Love stands out particularly as a sweet and poignant love song, National Express is just all-round brilliant - but somehow the overall tone is just not up to the same standards as other albums. Sweden? What's that doing on here? Eric the Gardener? Come on Neil - what're you playing at lad? This is the only Divine Comedy album where I have ever found myself using my remote to skip tracks. The songs that work show flashes of genius, and are well worth the cost of ...

An amazing album from 'The Divine Comedy' reflecting how much they have grown over the past couple of years. Tracks of intelligent lyrical phrases with ingeniously subtle meanings are common. Possibly influenced by 'The Doors', 'The Divine Comedy's style of music is both very rare and very special. 'Generation Sex' sets the tone for the album and is an appropriate first track. This album mellows out in the middle and culminates with the track 'Sunrise'. This album is may not suit everybody's taste but you have to listen to it to find out. ...