Simply Different... (Regeneration - Divine Comedy)

Member Name: pickles

Product:	Regeneration - Divine Comedy
Date:	14/07/01 (29 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: New, Different, Tuneful

Disadvantages: Not the old Divine Comedy

This is not the Divine Comedy you may know from National Express, Something for the Weekend or Generation Sex.
After the release of their 'Best Of' album, the band finished touring for some time, and retired to the studio to record something different.
Neil Hannon, the composer, guitarist and vocalist of the band says "there are enough people doing pop songs", so here he is doing more what he wants. But that doesn't mean it doesn't sound good.
It is certainly more of an Indie album, and in contrast to their full-orchestra-massive-choir album, 'Fin de Siecle' in 1998, this band includes only the 7 core band members, and a small string ensemble to compliment a number of tracks.
The songs on Regeneration are by no means comedy songs. Although there is many a light hearted moment or lyric, they need to be looked for, and the writing in this album reflects a much more melancholy side to the band.
However in many ways this album leaves you smiling. There is a lot of food for thought, and there is many an interesting lyric which will stay with you. The melodys are real melodys, unlike many guitar based bands, and the arrangements are well thought out.
As with all The Divine Comedy's previous material, nothing is the same as anything else and there is good variety to this album.
It will maybe not grab you as much as their old style of music, but it is certainly worth having and if you are looking to try somehting different next time you're browsing your CD store, then go for it and I doubt you'll be disappointed.

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