Regenerated! (Regeneration - Divine Comedy)

Member Name: hugon

Product:	Regeneration - Divine Comedy
Date:	14/03/01 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fuller sound, extremely well written and cracking songs

Disadvantages: They're probably about to lose a lot of fans with this new, depressing sound

Regeneration sees the return of the Divine Comedy, this time on the Parlophone label following their big money move from indie label Setanta. The move also sees them taking a new musical direction – a more sedate, introspective approach as opposed to the “nudge, nudge, wink, wink” jolly outings of National Express and Something for the Weekend. This was completely unexpected as I expected them to lose part of who they where by going to a big label, who would stifle them a bit, but they go completely against this by releasing their least commercial album to date. The whole album has a more relaxed, gentle feel, the lyrics aren’t full of clever witticisms, but reflect a lot more what has been going on in lead singer Neil Hannon’s life.

The Divine Comedy have drafted in Radiohead producer Nigel Goodrich to produce this album, and as a result the songs have a more downbeat feel to them, however, this really suits the songs this time round. You can tell it’s the Divine Comedy as Hannon’s voice comes through, but the music style makes you do a double take, sit up and notice what is going on. As I have mentioned before, it’s a very relaxed album and is perfect evening listening before you go to bed.

Lyrically, the album is as outstanding as ever, filled with some clever and often witty lyrics. However, this time the lyrics are more about himself and the situation around him, rather than the fun-filled stories of previous songs.

“Timestretched”
A really quiet and beautiful song to open the album, with just a simple picked acoustic guitar and some light strings, which is joined by a little percussion as the end of the song approaches. The vocals are lazy and quiet, which suits the whole relaxed sound of the song. It’s a song about never having enough time to do what you want, and the slowness of the song almost mocks the lyrics, as the song doesn’t seem to be any rush to
get to the end. The song itself is a perfect introduction to the type of music we can expect on this album.

“Bad Ambassador”
This is one of my favourite songs on the album, and it is a slight throwback to the previous sound of the Divine Comedy, and it sounds slightly like “Thrillseeker” from the Fin De Siecle album. Destined to become a live favourite, it makes a great start with a lovely little guitar riff and a lumbering bassline, both leading up to a soaring chorus, with a great piano line that sounds really big, before slipping back to the guitar and the bass. It’s the kind of song that Hannon’s voice is really suited, rich and loud, and backed up by a superb set of strings, it’s a definite album highlight.

“Perfect Love Song”
The word perfect in the title isn’t an exaggeration. It is close to being one of the most perfect songs I’ve ever heard. It’s shimmery and slow, with some of the most beautiful and heartfelt words I’ve ever heard in a song. It’s based around the acoustic guitar most of the way through, with minimal percussion and even a recorder, which although may not be the most “rock” of instruments, really works. The song is a simple affair, with Hannon describing the song he’ll write for this girl if she falls in love with him, and the fun that they could have together. It’s so sweet and it’s one to close your eyes and sing along to. The end of the song is beautiful with lots of really sweet ooo-ooo’s, a brilliant key change near the end, and the only bad thing is that it’s over far too soon.

“Note to self”
Another strange song on this album, that is basically as the title says, just a set of reminders to Neil. The acoustic guitar is given a rest and the electric plays a slow riff, and the bass guitar plays it’s slouching style. After the last two songs, it’s a bit
slow, but as it gets along a bit, you get used to it, and it’s the simplicity of the song that is the selling point. The riff becomes almost hypnotic, and there’s a few little strings going on in the background to lift it slightly. One of the darker songs on the album, and shock horror – the Divine Comedy swear! This happens at the end when the song suddenly explodes, quite unexpectedly and it’ll make you jump the first time it happens, as all the things he has been writing about suddenly get to him and he has a bit of a breakdown. It’s a hard song to describe without using the word haunting, but I’ll give it a go – sod it; it’s a haunting song.

“Lost property”
Another strange song, still it lives up to the obvious song titles theme that’s going on this album, by being about lost property. It’s basically a list of lost items (sounds like a roll call in a train station lost property room) but the song is deeper than just this list of items – it’s about the feelings and memories that are wrapped up in the possessions and the pain that is felt when they go missing, things that will never be held again. Another slow song that is led mainly by the acoustic guitar, with some brooding strings in the background, that keeps building up to a bit of a kick before fading away again. The slowness is used really well in this song, as it sets us off thinking about all the things we have lost in life as well. The song twists and turns, and the instruments are really well layered, there’s so much going on in the song that you’ll hear something new every time you listen to it.

“Eye of the needle”
The song opens with just percussion and some strange echo noises and it is clear Nigel Godrich has been here, as it sounds quite like something Radiohead would do, but then Neil starts to sing and it becomes the Divine Comedy again. Another slow, mournful son
g that relies heavily on the acoustic guitar and strings to create the atmosphere of the song, while the echoes reverberate in the background to create the brooding atmosphere. The vocals sound thoroughly depressed and the lyrics back up the mournful nature of the song by being about people struggling through life. Possibly the darkest point on the album.

“Love what you do”
The first single to be lifted from the album has a strange sound – some clicking percussion noises at the start, and the song doesn’t really gather any momentum, it just strolls through the music. It’s quite an uplifting song, all about taking what you want and seizing the opportunity whilst it’s still there, which makes it a pleasant change from the last few songs that have been going on. The bass makes it’s mark on this song after being a little subdued for a while, everything mixing together really well, and then the chorus starts and lifts you up that little bit further. The whole sound of the song is optimistic, about trying to better your life, but stopping doing things that are pointless. It was a song that took me a little while to get into, but it is a really super song. Again, there is so much going on, so many instruments that it is just really pleasant to listen to, prefect to lie down and shut your eyes to.

“Dumb it down”
This song opens with a slow riff on the electric guitar and Neil’s vocals returning to a more subdued nature. The sound has to be subdued, as the song is all about dumbing everything down, making everything the same and removing all that’s original about life. The chorus is super, Neil’s vocal’s lifting somewhat and the strings adding a bit of life to the song as he realises that we still have each other, so we still have something left. It’s a poignant and though provoking song, it’s scary to think that this kind of thing is going on all over the worl
d.

“Mastermind”
Mastermind opens with just an acoustic guitar, before it is joined by a piano and the vocals. It’s another sad song, about looking for signs and for people to tell you that you’re not mad, that you’re sane and that things are going to be OK. The most simple song on the album so far, with just the piano, acoustic and minimal strings, the lyrics becoming more and more confused as he sees things around him that confuse him and he’s left wondering at the end if he’s sane or the world’s mad, because everything has become so blurry.

“Regeneration”
The title track has a little more life in it than some of the songs around it, but it continues in the same vein as the other songs as a sombre and subdued affair. It twists and turns between the quiet and loud, exploding to life and becoming loud and quite rocky in the middle and neat the end with some of the heaviest sounds the Divine Comedy have ever done, and also possibly my favourite minute of music on the album. This song’s vocals aren’t really the most important part of the song and as a result they are kind of hidden away amongst all the other instruments. Lyrically it deals with a new era, about having the won the first battle, but still having the war to win – kind of like this album in a way, and I can see why they named the album after this song – a new style, but people to win over with the new sound.

“The beauty regime”
The album closes much the way as it began, with a simple and quiet song, with some really beautiful lyrics about not feeling down, getting into a good frame of mind and throwing out the things that you hate about your life, becoming a new person by using this “beauty regime”. It threatens to explode into life at a few points, with a few stabs of electric guitar, and as the song goes along it gathers a little bit of momentum, the piano g
etting a little more zip to it, and the strings having a bit of life around them, as we get to the end, throw out all the rubbish, ignore the other people and start living for ourselves.

Overall, this is a wonderful album. Whilst it might not be exactly what you’re expecting from the Divine Comedy, and they have been criticised slightly from certain corners for abandoning their old style, this is a simply amazing album. If it were coming from a new band, we’d be hailing them as saviours of modern music. Times and styles change and if this is what the Divine Comedy want to do, that’s up to them, I’m happy as long as they produce fine music like this.

If you’re a fan of the older stuff, you might want to give it a listen before you buy it, it is very different to the previous work, and even the “Love what you do single” is not really an indication of the album, as the album is darker than that, but if you’re a fan of the likes of JJ72, or some of the more acoustic lead bands like Coldplay, I can see you being right at home here. A bit difficult on the ears the first time you hear it, but give it another go, and you’ll find an excellent album under all the depression.

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