Description

The Divine Comedy: Neil Hannon (vocals, whistling, guitar, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, Wurlitzer, bass, drums, percussion, timpani).
Note singer/songwriter Neil Hannon’s wardrobe in the cover photo: leisure suit with collar points parallel to the ground, patterned scarf knotted rakishly around his pasty English neck, shades, cigarette, razor-cut hair, fashionably unshaven. That sums up the Divine Comedy. Like his obvious hero, late ’60s art-pop weirdo Scott Walker, Hannon enjoys appearing stylishly decadent. “Something For The Weekend” takes its title from the old British euphemism for buying condoms, while “Becoming More Like Alfie” name-checks the classic 1966 Michael Caine movie about an amoral London swinger.
CASANOVA is musically luscious, dripping with orchestral arrangements, female choruses, and Broadway-style melodies-“Charge,” in fact, cribs a fair bit from THE SOUND OF MUSIC. It’s so gorgeous, you can entirely ignore Hannon’s lyrical and conceptual pose and just luxuriate in the velvety lushness of it all. Hannon obviously fancies himself quite the charming rogue. The surprising thing is that he’s often right.