''Office Politics'' is the twelfth studio album by Irish

chamber pop Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of string section, strings, horn section, horns, piano, and voca ...

band

the Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

, released on 7 June 2019 by Divine Comedy Records. It is a concept album concerning the workplace and the ever-growing role machines play in it. The deluxe edition of the album features a bonus disc of Divine Comedy singer-songwriter

Neil Hannon Edward Neil Anthony Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter. He is the creator and front man of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy, and is the band's sole constant member. Hannon wrote the theme tunes for t ...

's original piano demos for his songs for

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

's 2007 musical adaption of ''

Swallows and Amazons ''Swallows and Amazons'' is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome and first published on 21 July 1930 by Jonathan Cape. Set in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District, the book introduces the main characters of John, ...

''. Hannon has said that the use of

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

was inspired by bands such as Blondie, on their single "

The Tide Is High "The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover versi ...

", and

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

's second band

the Creatures The Creatures were an English band formed in 1981 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie (musician), Budgie of the group Siouxsie and the Banshees. The Creatures released their first extended play, EP ''Wild Things (EP), Wild Things'' in ...

. Hannon also cited the tribal drums of early

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...

music as another inspiration.

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, awarded the album an average score of 77, based on seven reviews, indicating "generally good reviews."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from ''Office Politics'' liner notes. Musicians *Neil Hannon –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

(tracks 1–5, 7–10, 13),

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(tracks 1, 2, 9, 11 and 16),

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(track 1),

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

(tracks 1 and 2),

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

(tracks 5, 9 and 10),

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

(track 1),

sampler Sampler may refer to: * Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal * Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework * Sampler (surna ...

(tracks 1 and 6),

handclaps A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), b ...

(tracks 1, 9 and 13), drum machine (track 2),

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(tracks 2 and 7),

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

(tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 15),

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

(tracks 4 and 11),

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

(track 4),

electric organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...

(tracks 5, 6, 10 and 13),

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

(track 6),

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

(track 14) *

Simon Little Simon Little (born 30 September 1980) is an English bassist, most notable for his work with The Divine Comedy. A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Little joined The Divine Comedy in 2002 and is still a regular mem ...

– bass guitar (tracks 3–7, 9, 11, 12, 14–16) , backing vocals (tracks 1, 9, 12–14), handclaps (tracks 1 and 13), sound effects (track 5), synthesizer (track 8) *

Andrew Skeet Andrew John Skeet (born 1969 in Croydon) is an English musician, composer and music producer. He has written scores for television and film and worked with many well-known composers and artists as an arranger, orchestrator and conductor. Biog ...

– piano (tracks 3, 4, 11–16), backing vocals (tracks 1, 9, 12–14), handclaps (tracks 1, 9 and 13), drums (track 1), electric piano (track 3),

whistling Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...

(track 6), synthesizer (track 8), sampler (track 13) *Tim Weller – drums (tracks 1, 3–6, 9, 12, 14–16), handclaps (tracks 1 and 13), percussion (track 5), drum machine (track 8) *Ian Watson – backing vocals (tracks 1, 9, 12–14), handclaps (tracks 1, 9 and 13), synthesizers (tracks 3 and 8), organ (track 11), electric organ (tracks 12 and 14),

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

(tracks 12, 14 and 15), Mellotron (track 16) *Tosh Flood – guitars (tracks 2–6, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 15), backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 9, 12–14), handclaps (tracks 1, 9 and 13), drums (track 1), Mellotron (track 8), synthesizer (track 8),

Omnichord The Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument introduced in 1981 by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It typically features a touch plate known as "Sonic Strings", preset rhythms, auto-bass line functionality, and buttons for ma ...

(track 12) Additional musicians *Ber Quinn – backing vocals (track 1), synthesizer (track 8) *Jake Jackson – backing vocals (tracks 9 and 14) *

Katie Kissoon Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain). Ea ...

– backing vocals (tracks 2, 3, 9, 12 and 15) *Sonia Jones – backing vocals (tracks 2, 3, 9, 12 and 15) *Hazel Fernandez – backing vocals (tracks 2, 3, 9, 12 and 15) *Pete Ruotolo – backing vocals (track 1), guest vocals (track 13) *

Chris Difford Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze. Musical career Born in Greenwich, London, Difford has written ly ...

– guest vocals (track 4) *

Cathy Davey Catherine "Cathy" Davey (born 1979) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She has released one extended play, "Come Over" (2004), and four albums, '' Something Ilk'' (2004), ''Tales of Silversleeve'' (2007), '' The Nameless'' (2010) and ''New Forest'' ...

– guest vocals (track 4) *Thomas Walsh – guest vocals (track 4), backing vocals (track 5) Orchestra *Warren Zielinski, Richard George, Alison Dods, Patrick Kiernan, Tom Pigott-Smith, Natalia Bonner,

Lucy Wilkins Lucy Wilkins is an English violinist and keyboardist from Nottingham, England. She has toured with Roxy Music and performed with James Blunt and Snow Patrol. She has received critical acclaim for her violin solos while touring with Roxy Music. ...

, Perry Montague-Mason, Gillon Cameron –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

(tracks 1, 11, 13 and 16) *Bruce White, Emma Owens, Reiad Chibah –

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

(tracks 1, 11, 13 and 16) *Chris Worsey,

Caroline Dale Caroline Dale (born 1965) is a widely recorded British cellist who currently plays principal cello for the English Chamber Orchestra and London Metropolitan Orchestra. She has also performed music for numerous films and played with a wide range of ...

, Ian Burdge –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

(tracks 1, 11, 13 and 16) *Richard Pryce –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

(tracks 1, 11, 13 and 16) *

David Pyatt David John Pyatt (born 26 September 1973) is a horn player from Watford, England. In 1988, aged 14, he became the then youngest winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. In 1996 Gramophone Magazine announced David Pyatt as the ...

, John Ryan –

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

(tracks 4, 11, 15 and 16) * Mark Templeton, Richard Edwards –

trombones The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

(tracks 11, 15 and 16) *Dan Newell –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(tracks 11, 15 and 16) *Owen Slade –

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

(tracks 11, 15 and 16) *Richard Skinner –

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

(track 11) *Eliza Marshall –

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

(track 11) *Max Spiers –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

(track 11) *Martin Robertson –

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

(track 11) Production *Neil Hannon – production,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

(tracks 2, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 13) *Ber Quinn – engineering (tracks 1, 4–8, 11–14, 16), mixing (track 7) *Guy Massey – engineering (tracks 1–3, 8, 9, 14 and 15), mixing (tracks 1–6, 8–16) *Jake Jackson – engineering (tracks 1, 11, 13, 15 and 16) *John Prestage – assistant engineering *Kevin Callanan – assistant engineering *Tom Leach – assistant engineering *Frank Arkwright – mastering Design *Ben Meadows –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

*Raphael Neal – photography *Matthew Cooper – artwork design

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2019 albums The Divine Comedy (band) albums