Regeneration
by The Divine Comedy

All this love for Radiohead here at BEA and the best album they never made slips under the radar unnoticed... A glib twee troubadour could never have made the sequel to "OK Computer" could he? Oh well, it's your loss if you never hear this great lost album of the post-Britpop comedown.

"Resurrection" definitely belongs among the best Divine Comedy albums. The production is clearly better than on the previous Setanta releases Setanta; not least thanks to producer Nigel Godrich who has created a much more modern "Britpop" sound.

Unfortunately the album was more an artistic success than a commercial one. Great catchy songs like "Perfect Love Song" and "Love What You Do" appear strong enough to follow up on previous singles successes as "National Express" and "Generation Sex. "

In any event, there are plenty of fine songs in the best Hannon style. Besides the aforementioned the bluesy "Bad Amassador" stands out. Also the quiet melodic "Mastermind" is a clear favorite.

Some numbers almost have Radiohead-feel about them - best of those is "Dumb er Down"

Listening to this album will give you the impression that everyone the singer loved is dead. That's how many of the songs come across. On the other hand, 'Perfect Lovesong' is a beauty of a hit rivaling The Beach Boys in melodic songwriting and 'Bad Ambassador' is... well fun. That word. Fun. F-U-N FUN! So right off the bat you should see were dealing with an album of duality. But before we go any further... take a look at the cover. TAKE A GOOD LOOK! What is the point in that!? A body of blood in a vat of urine!? Hey mister, I want my money back! I DEMAND TO SEE THE MANAGER! You know, the cover reminds me of the Manic Street Preachers 'Lifeblood' cover. A less horrific version of this but it went so much better with the music. Songs like 'Cardiff Afterlife' and 'Solitude Sometimes Is' sounded cold and that reflected well with the simplicity of it. Here... you got veins and... vitality. Actually, this does suit the music. The slow shuffle of 'Eye Of The Needle' conjures pictures of old men and women huddled in the warm church. Crawling down the aisle for communion in hope of salvation before leaving the church to the volatile frost of December and the reminder that life is cruel. Vitality again on 'Timestretched'. The band of angels play as our friend wonders and ponders... dies a little inside. You know... as you do. Sleep easy tonight, it's not all about the final cut. 'Note To Self' is nice little look at the past week before crashing into electric guitar, drums, strings, the lot as a man loses his marbles. "Tuesday, Restate my assumptions, If you die you so at y... woooooah and moving swiftly on! Erm... yes...'Regeneration', the track, sounds like The Bends and Kid A meeting head on with the baritone singer are good friend is. 'The Beauty Regime' links fascism to Twiggy and 'Love What You Do' has some weird wooden instruments put to beautiful songwriting and acoustic guitar. Its not all bad, in fact it is all mostly great. A real hidden gem you have there. But don't let it fool you. You're not regenerating. You're going to die.