Idolator

Regeneration has it's fair share of great songs (Bad Ambassador, Perfect Lovesong and the mighty Mastermind being my standouts) but it stands out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of their catalog.

Neil Hannon (the only real member of the Divine Comedy) abandoned the camp lyrics, overblown orchestrations and maybe some of the charm of previous albums in an effort to appear more mature for their first major label release.

If you don't listen closely Regeneration can sound kinda Radiohead-lite but the quality of the songs really lifts it above that charachterization.

The two albums after Regeneration return to a more orchestrated sound while keeping some of the more personal lyrical style.

Also, Hannon has retained ownership of his output prior to Regeneration and will reissue those CDs on his own label this fall. It's all pretty great stuff and well worth checking out!

I must agree with the comment above; I like many individual songs from Regeneration but as a decade-plus Divine Comedy fan, it doesn't hang together quite as well as just about any other album. The reissues will be great, but the two most recent albums (Absent Friends and Victory for the Comic Muse) both feature Hannon at the height of his powers -- without even a Father Ted novelty tune!

I can't stand Neil Hannon. He's got a voice like a child molester.

Regeneration? Regeneration? What utter nonsense, my yankee friends: most Divine Comedy fams agree that this is their weakest album - and certainly unrepresentative of their sound.

If youhave ever enjoyed an Evelyn Waugh novel, or ever thought of leaving the wide open plains of the mid-west for the buccolic splendour of rural england, I can heartily recommend 'Promenade': eccentric, literary and deeply romantic