Disco de The Divine Comedy: “Absent Friends [Bonus Track]”

Many Divine Comedy fans were ambivalent towards Mr. Hannon's last CD, 'Regeneration'. The change from the humorous, 'nod-and-wink' music that comprised much of Hannon's back catalog was too radical for some. I, however, enjoyed the record on its own merits. That said, I had one reservation concerning that Nigel Godrich-produced effort: Despite its accomplished veneer, there seemed to be a 'Let It Be' weariness that permeated the songs. I was vaguely apprehensive that 'Regeneration' would be the final D.C. release. Subconsciously, I reserved final opinion on the CD until I heard some new music...

'Absent Friends' is an extraordinary achievement. The eleven songs on the CD flow into each other very well. While all the songs are beautifully rendered, I do have some particular favorites:

The final track, 'Charmed Life', has one of the greatest lyrical melodies I've ever heard. 'My Imaginary Friend' is very charming. 'Leaving Today' approaches epic proportions. 'Come Home Billy Bird' shows Mr. Hannon's love of words and, along with 'The Happy Goth', a surprising lack of sarcasm for their respective subjects. But special mention should be given to 'The Wreck of the Beautiful', a hypnotic song about a ship during its final journey; the backing vocals do a remarkable job of conjuring an underwater world in which the 'Beautiful' is laid to rest.

A side note: With the less-than-congenial split from long-time friends who comprised the group since 'Casanova' in mind (the complaints centered on record contracts, salaries, creative input, etc.), fans should find Neil's homage to the cover art for David Bowie's 1970 record 'The Man Who Sold The World' fascinating...

Get this record!

Try downloading Stick & Stones for instance. Listen to it, and keep in mind it's nothing but an OK track by Absent Friends' standards... It may be too early to say it, but I do believe Absent Friends will be seen in twenty years as one of the greatest albums of all time.Think about it, just how many other albums have come this close to the beauty of Pet Sounds , Forever Changes or The Queen Is Dead? It's only been released a month ago and I've already seen some people ranking it in their 25 favorites albums ever.

I was at first reluctant to buy Absent Friends because as a 20 years old Punk fan, I thought it could only appeal to older Rock fans like Air's Talkie Walkie did. But when I saw The Divine Comedy had sold out theig gig in Paris in only a couple of days, I thought I should definitly give them a try. No need to say I'm glad I did.

Let's start with the weakest track of this LP: Leaving Today. It's not very tuneful, lyrics are a bit cryptic and musically speaking there's nothing special about it.

That said, everything else is perfect. What is truly amazing is that there isn't any filler here even though the CD clocks at more than 45 minutes.

My favorite songs are "Absent Friends" , a wonderful way to start this journey, "Come Home Billy Bird" and its enchanting chorus, "The Beautiful And The Wreck", wich a french critic described as "a rocket into my heart", the excellent closer "Charmed Life", and... "The Happy Goth"!

How I smiled and joyfully laughed when I first heard this song! It is one of the very few rock songs that has lyrically really spoken to me with The Smiths' "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out", Hole's "Miss World", Liz Phair's "F**k and Run" and The Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty In Pink". I forced all my friends and my whole family to listen to this song, and they all liked it, even my 30 years old techno-fan brother!

When you hear the last notes of Charmed Life, there is only one thing you can think about: Thank You , Neil. I'd like to be like you when I grow up.

THANK YOU SO MUCH NEIL HANNON! THANK YOU FOR MAKING SUCH BEAUTIFUL THINGS!

Neil Hannon has always been one of the most underrated British composers, which I find rather strange. After all he IS "The Divine Comedy" and the sole responsible for gems such as "Tonight we fly" or "Gin soaked Boy". In his new offering, he presents us with a batch of songs entirely different in mood than his previous CD - the equally remarkable "Regeneration". His beautifully crafted songs, accompanied by lush orchestration and his soothing voice are the norm here and we could definitely say he's back to top form. Mixing Oscar Wilde and simple stories of lost loves and missing friends, these lyrics are also among his best. Take "Our mutual friend" and the single "Come Home Billy Bird" - both are fine examples of perfect pop songs. It is difficult not to fall in love with this CD and a great joy to see that Hannon hasn't yet forgotten how to thrill us.

I find it strange that "Absent Friends" is heralded by various editorial sources as being a "return to form." More properly, it's a return to a stylistic base (I'm one of those people who believes that Regeneration was a fun variation on a common theme). But oh how good it is! Those who're hankerin' for a return to the chamber-pop indies days of the Divine Comedy will love this release...as should, well, everyone else, ideally.

"Charmed Life" sets the tone; from its piano intro, it's immediately evident that the "old" Divine Comedy vibe is back. Refreshingly, Hannon has learned from his "Regeneration" experiment, and manages to meld his older style with that newer approach on some tracks. "Leaving Today" combines "Regeneration"'s moodiness and atmospheric approach with a lush, dramatic string arrangement. "Wreck of the Beautiful" continues in this tradition. Essentially, the tone retains the old Divine Comedy playfullness, but isn't afraid to indulge in introspection.

The more characteristically Hannon moments are also delightful. I absolutely adore "Come Home Billy Bird," which features some of the most entertaining lyrics on the album (I've seen reviews that critique it as being "formulaic." Ehh. If it's by numbers, it's at least done very, very well). And I have a soft spot for "The Happy Goth," a song I saw Mr. Hannon play while he was opening for Ben Folds in New York a few years ago (my formative DC experience, natch).

Cons? The album seems to drag somewhat near the end, and there is a distinct lack of uptempo numbers ("Billy Bird") excepted. "Laika's Theme" is pretty, but doesn't really go anywhere.

Verdict? A worthy entry in the Divine Comedy canon; to experienced fans it could conceivably either sound like more of the same or a welcome return to normalcy, but I'll stand confident in my statement that I just *really, really like* the thing. It's currently only available as a pricey import (and is, I gather, probably copy-protected in much of Europe), but presumably that'll change in the upcoming weeks. If you've never heard the band before, this is a great place to dive in.

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...