THE DIVINE COMEDY (PART 1)

THE DIVINE COMEDY is the "nom de pop" of NEIL HANNON, an Irishman who deserves a place alongside JARVIS COCKER, MORRISSEY, and NEIL TENNANT in the mordant-wit pantheon of contemporary songwriters. Like those gentlemen, he is more than capable of joining a killer riff with a cute-yet-cutting couplet.

In the beginning (the late '80s), the Divine Comedy was content to channel R.E.M.-styled jangle-pop. But with the subsequent success of Britpop (generally) and PULP (specifically), the sound began to change. SCOTT WALKER suddenly seemed to become Hannon's muse. The music became increasingly baroque. Lush. Melodramatic. And the lyrics turned smarter. Sharper. Tongue-in-cheekier. So... here's the first part of two parts of just such...

THE DIVINE COMEDY on WIKIPEDIA.

[MP3] "Generation Sex" [1998]

[MP3] "Everybody Knows (Except You)" [1997]

[MP3] "Tonight We Fly" [1994]

[MP3] "Our Mutual Friend" [2004]

[MP3] "Perfect Lovesong" [2001]

[MP3] "Sweden" [1998]

[MP3] "Songs of Love" [1996]

[MP3] "A Lady of a Certain Age" [2006]