The Divine Comedy - "Regeneration"
I loved the Divine Comedy. They were my band. Neil Hannon: a short, skinny, effete, pompous, self-conscious know-all. I could relate. The first three albums, "Liberation", "Promenade" and "Casanova" were - along with Pulp's mid-90s albums - clear evidence that intelligent pop was in the resurgence. The Divine Comedy records sparkled with wit. They had a quaint charm with their string quartets and oboes, and - this is important - they gave the special thrill that comes from loving a band no-one else had ever heard of. They made the listener feel clever, with their literary references and musucal quotations.

Then came the hits. No-one likes a smart-arse who succeeds. Suddenly, what was charming became condescencing sneering.

Thus "Regeneration". As the title suggests, all has changed. They've left their indie label, and EMI have chucked bucketloads of money at them. This is their first album which is "them", rather than "him". They've roped in "OK Computer" producer Nigel Godrich, and the resulting sound is more than a bit Radiohead - layered guitars and much wailing. At one point Neil screams [Neil? Screaming?] "what the fuck is going on? Where has everybody gone?" Not sure if this is testimony to his state of mind or his vanished fanbase.

I took one listen to "Regeneration" and hated it. All the things I had once loved about them were gone. Where once there was tiddleypom there now was twiddly pomp.

But then I hauled it out again last week and somewhere underneath that ponderous production there are a couple of lovely pop songs. Calling a song "The Perfect Lovesong" is risky, but Neil just about pulls it off. This should have been the next single, as it might be a summer hit, but we don't want that. Previous single "Love What You Do" flopped, and I fully expect the plodding "Bad Ambassador" to do the same. The public doesn't want angst-ridden Neil. They want another "National Express" or some lightweight novelty to soundtrack a Jamie Oliver ad. And perhaps if they take that route, they may survive, but I imagine they'll soon be dropped by EMI. And Neil will have to go back to being a lonely, misunderstood artist penning wry ditties. Hurrah!