Amazon.co.uk Review
Nine albums in, and Neil Hannons taste for archly literate pop and, indeed, for the occasional saucy gag, delivered with eyebrow curled remains. "You dont know how much I need you," he croons, on schoolboys lament To Die A Virgin, "The Handy Andys Ive been through." Seemingly a reference to The Divine Comedys long unavailable debut
Fanfare For The Comic Muse,
Victory
sees Hannon fronting a band that skimps not on the symphonics, including as it does a thirteen-piece string section, harp, French Horn, and oboe not to mention a certain Dougie Payne of Travis on bass. A certain jauntiness is in evidence on the galloping Party Fears Two, originally by Scottish pop act The Associates, but far more dominant here is pathos-laden orchestral suites such as Snowball In Negative and the touching A Lady Of A Certain Age, tale of a faded society girl in the midst of her twilight years: "Your husbands hollow heart gave out one Christmas day/He left the villa to his mistress in Marseilles". Best track here, though, is Arthur C Clarkes Mysterious World, a Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus-type number which invokes the memory of the paranormal-obsessed British sci-fi author with comic results. --
Louis Pattison
CD Description
'Victory For The Comic Muse' is the ninth album from Neil Hannon's Divine Comedy. Not to be confused with the band's debut album 'Fanfare For The Comic Muse', this album yet againshowcases Hannon's uncanny knack of being able to marry evocative, character-based lyrics and orchestral flourishes into a winning pop formula. Includes the single 'Diva Lady'.