Customer Reviews

Absent Friends

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This unusual CD is very much a grower, as other reviewers have rightly said and as always with growers, you end up liking the least user-friendly songs best. First, Neil Hannon's voice dominates the proceedings - stating the bleedin'obvious, you may say - but it is a most unusual voice constantly challenged and egged on by some of the equally extraordinary and original arrangements and orchestrations. As a result, Neil's offerings can no longer be called pop music or even anything like it, with such oddities as a bass bassoon in "Happy Goth", a purely string backed song in "Our mutual friend", an almost music-hall setting for "Charmed Life" and God knows what for the instrumental "Laika's theme".

Neil Hannon can really really sing, and he gets those notes: sometimes, as you may guess from the heading, the whole thing reminds me of a much more thoughtful and emotionally charged Temperance Seven, fuelled by Whispering Paul McDowell's 20s voice and Joseph Kronk's exceptional arrangements.

The obvious "quickies" are "Absent Friends" and "Come home Billy Bird", the first sounding like a mad canter through the Big Country with a cast of Neil's unlikely characters and the second a light-hearted romp about a sad middle manager waking up drunk after a Belgian businmess meetinmg and trying to catch his plane home to see son's match. Very good, almost poppy but not quite. "Happy Goth", about the lonely adolescent girl locked in her inarticulacy, costume and attitude, listening to something awful like Nirvana, is deeply affecting in its portrayal of complete communication breakdown ("that's what she would say, if she ever talked to you")- and it features the bass bassoon: knighthoods all round. I know a young girl like this and she is also lovely inside and out - but her beautiful self has almost sunk to screaming point under the loneliness and image. Desperately sad. "The Wreck of the Beautiful", Neil's frightening ghostly allegorical tale of a ship rusting to death, is just outstanding and shows a complete maturity of thought, writing, singing and arrangment - beyond all doubt one of the best two or three things he has ever produced. The same is true of "Sticks and stones" ("you and I go together, like the molar and the drill") about romantic breakdown and of "Leaving today" about Dad leaving home and all the heartache involved. Bye bye, bye bye.

"Our mutual friend", a witty story about being gazumped over a girl by the mutual friend (another refernce to Noel Coward) who introduced them, is a musical storm with the staccato strings and then a wall of emotion at the end, is great and so is "Freedom Road" which I find very chilling. It's built around one guitar clawhammer chord, except that orchestrations give it another new dimension of almost fear and a whole new chord sequence. "Laika's theme" is an odd instrumental that will not be to everbody's taste, but "Charmed Life", a genuine thanks to arriving at a happy state, includes the tribute line "Breaking up is so very hard to do" - nice touch!

I suppose that any other "band" would have had 5 stars for this very odd and deeply moving work, but Neil is such a one-off that he has to be judged agaist himself, really. Make no mistake, you will play this until the laser guide disappears and it is incredibly good, well thought out and beautifully played (just get the bass and strings on Charmed Life).

When Neil Hannon gets a universal five stars there will not really be any competition left in this field, and there's very little as it is. Worth every penny of your money and this will stick with you for life, I guess. Excellent, unique - but also unsettling and chilling at times. Music isn't always fun, gang.

This is one of the most cohesive and beautifully crafted records I have ever heard, and is very much a return to the old-style Divine Comedy with it's lush orchestrations and rich, opulent atmosphere. I personally love the way Neil Hannon has chosen each instrument for it's particular sound, instead of just using what was available (ie. drums, guitar, bass...) on every track. Although it does include a couple of 'dirges' and an instrumental track that goes nowhere, this is a great album overall with some really beautiful and uplifting songs, with all the lyrical humour, 1960s feel and Scott Walker vocals of old.

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.

after the Regeneration album, i wasn't sure what to expect from this new Divine Comedy album. the band that i had initially fallen in love with, had drastically decided to change their style; going from charming and bombastic pop with a dramatic flair, to a more moody and slightly Radiohead-ish kind of sound.
i found myself beginning to like their newfound sound, but i missed the charm of the older material. now with the brilliantly titled "Absent Friends", Neil Hannon and company seems to have found the perfect balance between the charm and the mood. "Leaving Today" and "The Wreck Of The Beautiful" are some of the most achingly gorgeous melodies that have ever seen the light of day. these songs are like the kind of pop songs that Erik Satie might have written if he were a pop star. really affecting and haunting. and it's so so good to have the humor back in the lyrics. i really missed the wit in such lines like "you and i go together like the molar and the drill" from "Sticks And Stones." there are so many great and classic songs on this album that if i were to go through them all, it would just be non-stop gushing. so suffice it to say, this is my favorite Divine Comedy album and a great place to start if you're the slightest bit curious about this wonderful and irresistable band. and is it just me, or does the song "Freedom Road" sound just like another song? i cannot place it. is it a cover? hmmm..drives me crazy everytime i hear it. oh well... Absent Friends is a perfect album full of priceless orchestral moody pop songs that are truly unforgettable. listening to this, i can finally appreciate the previous album, Regeneration even more now; because it's the stepping stone to this unrivaled greatness.

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...

After Regeneration came out a couple years ago, people complained that he had changed his style. If fact almost everything we loved about Divine Comedy had changed. His fans were disappointed. I was too. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't what I wanted. I heard that Neil was disappointed that his fans didn't want to follow the new direction, but he also decided to return to the tried and true sound which made him famous in the first place.

This album is a return to form. He's still got it. It's got the orchestration, it's got the literary references, it's got the wit... it sounds like The Divine Comedy. It's not as good as Liberation or Casanova, but maybe he's just getting warmed up again...

Anyway, there are tracks on this that are as good as anything he's ever done. The Happy Goth is definitely the best track on the album and I would say one of his best to date.

Neil Hannon has outdone himself with this brilliant and beautiful new album, dedicated to his young daughter, Willow. The swelling orchestras complement his booming voice beautifully, and although we've seen gleaming snippets of his personality throughout his music, this one is intensely personal. "Leaving Today," the most melancholy and "Broadway" of the album, borders on melodrama in its crescendo but never parodies itself: it gives us a hint about Hannon's dislike of leaving his family behind whilst going on tour. "Our Mutual Friend" has a gorgeous tango offsetting yet another emotional heartbreak. "My Imaginary Friend" mourns the loss of childhood innocence yet presents a charming vignette of life as a precocious little boy. "Come Home Billy Bird" is a snipe at career parents who neglect the source of their ambitions. The latter is the closest to the "classic" Divine Comedy sound, with harpsichords, sparkling female backing vocals and Neil gluing it all togethere...but it is fresh and original and a fantastic single release. PLAY THIS SONG ON AMERICAN RADIO.
All in all, "Absent Friends" is an absolutely gorgeous album, beautifully produced, with some of the loveliest cover photography I've ever seen of Neil Hannon. This is a must-have for your collection, especially if you are a fan of Scott Walker, Jacques Brel, and orchestrated melancholy. Just lovely.

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. "Absent Friends" is FINALLY available domestically in the US. If you've never heard the band before, this is a great place to dive in.

I recently became acquainted with the Neil Hannon project "The Duckworth Lewis Method" and was very impressed by the album. British music tradition in the vein of great songwriters like Ray Davies and Pete Townsend.

I subsequently wanted to listen more closely to some of the recent The Divine Comedy, and the choice fell on the album "Absent Friends" from 2004. Perhaps it was not quite what I had hoped for although there without question are many beautiful songs on the album.

Some of the tracks are a little too heavily arranged for my taste - a little too grandiose. However, there are fine exceptions, where a simpler band-sound is predominant.

Tracks like "Come Home Billy Bird", "The Happy Goth" and the title track are melodic Brit-pop at its best.

Moreover, one must admit that songs like "Sticks and Stones," "Our Mutual Friend" and "Charmed Life" is very fine compositions.

Lyrically Hannon is a great storyteller. Good examples are "Our Mutual Friend" and "Come Home Billy Bird".

""Happy Goth", about the lonely adolescent girl locked in her inarticulacy, costume and attitude, listening to something awful like Nirvana, is deeply affecting in its portrayal of complete communication breakdown ("that's what she would say, if she ever talked to you")- and it features the bass bassoon: knighthoods all round. I know a young girl like this and she is also lovely inside and out - but her beautiful self has almost sunk to screaming point under the loneliness and image. Desperately sad."

WHAT??...
sorry...
but this person seems to have missed the point of HAPPY GOTH..
the clue being in the title with the first word...

MANY people who the world perceives to be quite miserable because they do not behave in a manner that is dictated by society are actually quite HAPPY!!!
there is great beauty in darkness as well as light...sometimes even more so...
and all the divine comedy music is a great testament to that fact...
finding humour in the darkness as well...
because it's all very dark...even when it is funny..

anyway- sorry if that girl is truly miserable...she might well be..
but this song is not about her if she is..
oh- and goth people do NOT listen to nirvana...


;-)