Liberation (Setanta 1993)
Debut outing – that is, not counting Neil’s initial stab at being The Divine Comedy, where another kid took over vocals – and there’s a distinct REM vibe happening. ‘Your Daddy’s Car’ is an easy-listening interface with a lyric about drunken driving; ‘Europop’ could be a blueprint for Blur’s ‘Girls And Boys’, and Neil’s bookish side surfaces with Wordsworth’s ‘Lucy’ set to music. Essential.

Promenade (Setanta 1994)
First of the concept LPs, this ‘Day In The Life’ is full of imagination, not to mention strings. Only in the mind of Neil Hannon could living and dead authors scramble around in ‘the Booklovers’ or could God himself pluck an atheist from a Ferris wheel as per ‘Don’t Look Down’. Mysteriously, de trop cher en France.

Casanova (Setanta 1996)
Asks the very important question: ‘What’s Under That Dress?’ Styled loosely on the diary dribblings of the renowned 18th century trouser snake, Neil’s third contains two hit singles, the Father Ted theme ‘Songs of Love’ – with lyrics more splenetic than Father Jack minus his Chardonnay – and lots of songs about girls.


Susan Corrigan
Volume 17, 12/1996