Fin de Siècle (album)
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''Fin de Siècle'' is the sixth album by Northern Irish
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...
band the Divine Comedy. It was released on 31 August 1998 by Setanta Records. Following the release of fifth studio album ''
A Short Album About Love ''A Short Album About Love'' is the fifth studio album by Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released in 1997 by Setanta Records. It was recorded on 20 October 1996 at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London. Release and reception "Everybody Kn ...
'' (1997), frontman Neil Hannon demoed new material at his flat in Clapham. During this time, the relationship between the band and their label Setanta Records was straining as a result of heated discussions over tour costs and studio sessions. They recorded their next album in three studios (September Sound,
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and The Dairy) with Jon Jacobs as the main producer and Hannon co-producing. ''Fin de Siècle'' is a chamber pop
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
that details living in the 20th century. ''Fin de Siècle'' reached number nine in the UK Albums Chart; all of its
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charted on the UK Singles Chart, with " National Express" reaching the highest at number eight. ''Fin de Siècle'' was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry in 1998, while "National Express" was certified silver in 2021. Prior to the album's release, the Divine Comedy headlined the New Stage at
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
in 1998; " Generation Sex" was released as the album's lead single in September 1998. Following this, the band went on a tour of the United Kingdom, and by its end, "The Certainty of Chance" was released as the album's second single. Leading up to a benefit show in early 1999, "National Express" was released as the album's third and final single.


Background and recording

The Divine Comedy released their fifth studio album ''
A Short Album About Love ''A Short Album About Love'' is the fifth studio album by Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released in 1997 by Setanta Records. It was recorded on 20 October 1996 at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London. Release and reception "Everybody Kn ...
'' in February 1997. It was met with favorable reviews from music critics and peaked at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart, while its sole
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
"Everybody Knows (Except You)" reached number 14. When writing the next album, Hannon was listening to an album by
Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...
, which he thought had "ten perfect tracks" on it, and set about writing such a collection for the Divine Comedy. He demoed material in a spare room in his Clapham flat, where he was living with his girlfriend. Hannon spent a month playing the
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game ''
Overboard! ''Overboard!'' (''Shipwreckers!'' in North America) is a top-down adventure game, released by Psygnosis for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in October 1997. It employs a light-hearted, all-ages piratical theme. A relatively low-key release ...
'' (1997), marking his first breaking from writing since 1989. During this period, the band's relationship with their label Setanta Records was deteriorating; discussions about studio sessions or budgets for tours resulted in heated debates. ''Fin de Siècle'' was recorded at September Sound,
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and The Dairy with Jon Jacobs acting as the main producer, with co-production from Hannon. Jacobs also served as engineer, while additional engineering was done by Andy Scade; they were assisted Mitsuo Tate, Adam Brown and Mak Togashi. Jacobs mixed the recordings at Westpoint.


Composition and lyrics

''Fin de Siècle'' is a chamber pop album; its title is French for "end of the century". ''
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'' referred to it as a
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
that "pick at the scabs of twentieth century existence". Discussing the album title, Hannon said it deals with "other people's angst really, and it's more about the end of the century being a good excuse to have a look around and observe". AllMusic reviewer Jack Rabid said the Scott Walker influences on the band's previous albums had "largely diminishe ... if not actually eras d by this point. Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic said the album's opening song "Generation Sex" revolves around "hedonism in the late 20th century". In one of the verses, Hannon criticizes the tabloid press over their role with the
death of Diana, Princess of Wales In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died from injuries sustained earlier that day in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and Henri Paul, their chauffeur, were found d ...
, alongside the British public who blame the newspapers while continuing to buy them at the same time. "Thrillseeker" is one of three songs, the other two being " National Express" and "Here Comes the Flood", that evokes the style of a Broadway musical, complete with a choir ensemble. "Commuter Love" sees Hannon detail unrequited love;
Hilary Summers Hilary Summers is a Welsh lyric contralto. She was trained at Reading University, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio in London. She has performed on soundtracks such as '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'', '' The Lib ...
contributed vocals to both it and the following track "Sweden", the latter of which apes the work of
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
. For "Sweden", Hannon wanted to convey
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as a utopian paradise. He said percussionist Rob Farrer was tasked with "recreating 'the sound of Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, being forged by the dwarves of Svartalvheim. "Eric the Gardener", which includes programming courtesy of Steve Hilton, is centered around a
six-note scale In music and music theory, a hexatonic scale is a scale with six pitches or notes per octave. Famous examples include the whole-tone scale, C D E F G A C; the augmented scale, C D E G A B C; the Prometheus scale, C D E F A B C; and the blues sc ...
, played in a
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style. It ends with a three-minute trip hop section in the vein of
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. "National Express" is a homage to the public transport system. Hannon had written it in 1995, but thought it did not fit within the sound of their studio albums '' Casanova'' (1996) and ''A Short Album About Love''. Discussing the song, he said he and his girlfriend went to visit his brother; in order to do so, they took the coach service of the same name. He wrote the lyrics from her perspective and combined them with a "skiffle-y, train-a-comin’ vibe .. apiano motif. And this big, brassy chorus, sort of end-of-the-pier". "Here Comes the Flood", which features narration from Dexter Fletcher, come across like the work of
Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...
and is about "Hollywood's idea of the apocalypse". The album's closing track "Sunrise", which was written around the time of the Good Friday Agreement, has Hannon reminisce about his childhood upbringing in Enniskillen, as well as ponder Northern Ireland's future.


Release

The Divine Comedy released a split single with
Shola Ama Shola Ama (born 8 March 1979) is a British singer from London, who scored her biggest hits with "You Might Need Somebody" (1997), a cover of Randy Crawford's 1981 hit, " You're the One I Love" and "Still Believe" (1999) which was one of the fi ...
, where they contributed a cover of " I've Been to a Marvellous Party" (1938) by
Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
. On 9 May 1998, ''Fin de Siècle'' was announced for released in three months' time. Following this, the Divine Comedy played a warm-up show in Portsmouth in preparation for the headlining slot of the
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
. ''Fin de Siècle'' was released on 31 August 1999; its artwork is a monochrome image featuring Hannon in funeral director attire. "Generation Sex" was released as the album's lead single on 14 September 1998; the 7-inch vinyl version included "Postcard to Rosie". Two versions were released on CD: the first with "London Irish" and "Time Lapse", while the second featured "Chasing Sheep Is Best Left to Shepherds" and "Little Acts Of Kindness". In October 1998, the band went on a headlining tour of the UK. "The Certainty of Chance" was released as a single on 9 November 1998; the cassette edition included "Maryland Electric Rainstorm". Two versions were released on CD: the first with "Last Stand in Metroland" and "Miranda", while the second featured "The Dead Only Quickly" and "Knowing the Ropes". The music video for "The Certainty of Chance" is a recreation of a scene from ''
The Manchurian Candidate ''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy. The ...
'' (1962) with Hannon starring in
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's role. "National Express" was released as the album's third single on 25 January 1999; the cassette edition included "The Heart of Rock and Roll". Two versions were released on CD: the first with "Going Downhill Fast", "Radioactivity" and a radio edit for "National Express", while the second featured "Famous" and "Overstrand". The Divine Comedy performed at the Concert for a Living Wage benefit show in March 1999 and at the
Bowlie Weekender The Bowlie Weekender was a music festival curated by Belle & Sebastian at the Pontin's Holiday camp in Camber Sands, Sussex between Friday 23 and Sunday 25 April 1999. The event was the inspiration for All Tomorrow's Parties, a music festival ...
in April 1999. ''Fin de Siècle'' was combined with ''Casanova'' as a two-CD set for the French market in 1998. ''Fin de Siècle'' was reissued as an expanded two-CD set in 2020, either standalone or as part of the ''Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time – Thirty Years of the Divine Comedy'' career-spanning box set. The regular version of the album was re-pressed on vinyl that same year. "Generation Sex", "National Express" and "The Certainty of Chance" were included on the band's first and second compilation albums '' A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy'' (1999) and ''Charmed Life – The Best of the Divine Comedy'' (2020).


Reception

''Fin de Siècle'' was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. Rabid noted that the songs "though pleasant, don't quite scale the heights Neil Hannon has before: nothing is as arresting" as their previous album, outside of three of the tracks. He said that the 60s-movie oom-pah pomp and bombast that introduces each verse is fabulous", before adding that Hannon has "done better" previously. Kevin Harley of '' Record Collector'' said it "tipped the jokes and arrangements towards overload, though a tempering beauty emerged" on songs such as "Sunrise" and "The Certainty of Chance". '' NME'' writer James Oldham echoed a similar sentiment, stating that it was "toweringly ambitious and painfully preposterous, it lurches from the insubstantial to the melodramatic in the blink of an eyelid". He thought it was "just as revealing as anything else he's ever written ..with less memorable tunes". Hannon himself later said it was the "absolute height of my egotism, you know? ..I literally thought I could do anything. And so we did". In an article for ''We Are Cult'' commemorating the album's 20th anniversary, Stephen Graham said: ''Fin de Siècle'' peaked at number nine on the UK Albums Chart. "Generation Sex" charted at number 19, while "The Certainty of Chance" reached number 49 and "National Express" made it to number eight, making it the band's highest charting single to date. ''Fin de Siècle'' was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry in 1998, who later certified "National Express" as silver in 2021.


Track listing

All songs written by Neil Hannon, except for "Eric the Gardener" and "The Certainty of Chance", written by Hannon and Joby Talbot.


Personnel

Personnel per booklet. The Divine Comedy * Neil Hannon – vocals, guitar * Ivor Talbot – guitar * Bryan Mills – guitar * Joby Talbot – piano, harpsichord, arranger, conductor * Stuart Bates – organ, accordion * Miggy Barradas – drums * Rob Farrer – percussion Additional musicians *
Hilary Summers Hilary Summers is a Welsh lyric contralto. She was trained at Reading University, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio in London. She has performed on soundtracks such as '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'', '' The Lib ...
– vocals (tracks 3 and 4) * Dexter Fletcher – narration (track 9) * Steve Hilton – programming (track 5) Production and design * Jon Jacobs – producer, engineer, mixing * Neil Hannon – co-producer, sleeve concept * Andy Scade – additional engineer, programming * Mitsuo Tate – assistant * Adam Brown – assistant * Mak Togashi – assistant * Kevin Westenberg – sleeve concept, photography * Rob Crane – design The Brunel Ensemble * Chris Austin – director * Christopher George – violin 1 * Maya Bickel – violin 1 * Kate Birchall – violin 1 * Benjamin Harte – violin 1 * Bérénice Lavigne – violin 1 * Mary Martin – violin 1 * Benjamin Nabarro – violin 1 * Roy Theaker – violin 1 * Charles Mutter – violin 2 * Aroussiak Baltaian – violin 2 * Eos Counsell – violin 2 * Anna Giddey – violin 2 * Kelly McCusker – violin 2 * Emma Mitchell – violin 2 * Timothy Myall – violin 2 * Matthew Ward – violin 2 * Yannick Dondelinger – viola * David Aspin – viola * Joanna Lacey – viola * Jong on Lau – viola * John Murphy – viola * Robert Riley – viola * Betsy Taylor – cello * Emmeline Brewer – cello * Christopher Fish – cello * Louise Hopkins – cello * Robbie Jacobs – cello * Peter Devlin – double bass * Philip Dawson – double bass * Ian Watson – double bass * Rebecca Larson – flute, alto flute, piccolo * Max Spiers – oboe, cor anglais * Stuart King – clarinet, bass clarinet * Simon Haram – soprano saxophone * Charlotte Glasson – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute * Chris Caldwell – alto saxophone * Kelvin Christiane – tenor saxophone * Rebecca Menday – bassoon * Matthew Guner – horn * Tansy Davis – horn * Jonathan Hassan – horn * Jonathan Morcombe – horn * Daniel Newell – trumpet * Mark Law – trumpet * Simon Jones – trumpet, piccolo trumpet * Robert Samuel – trumpet * Tom Hammond – trombone * Andrew Harwood-White – bass trombone * Simon Roberts – tuba * Lucy Wakeford – harp * Deborah Keyser – administrator Crouch End Festival Chorus * David Temple – chorus master * Rachael Conner – soprano * Denise Haddon – soprano * Gisela Soinne – soprano * Nina Weiss – soprano * Julia White – soprano * Jenny Weston – soprano * Pamela Constantinou – soprano * Pat Whitehead – soprano * Liz Knight – soprano * Sue McCrone – soprano * Allison Mason – soprano * Naomi Fulop – soprano * Felicity Ford – soprano * Alison Brister – alto * Tina Burnett-Pope – alto * Jo Chapman – alto * Veronica Gray – alto * Rhael Jenkins – alto * Elise Golden – alto * Jane Helliwell – alto * Pauline Hoyle – alto * Catherine Best – alto * Maggie Huntingford – alto * Claire Turner – alto * Michael Coates – tenor * John Best – tenor * Steve McAdam – tenor * Ken Wilson – tenor * Nick Turner – tenor * Philip Robinson – tenor * Christopher Higgs – tenor * Barry Varley-Tipton – tenor * Roger Cleave – bass * Geoff Kemball-Cook – bass * Robert Goodall – bass * Paul Haddon – bass * Martin Hudson – bass * Bruce Boyd – bass * Vincent Lawler – bass * Paul Mason – bass * Lenny Fagin – bass * Stephen Greenway – bass * Ian Lawrence – bass * John Gibbons – bass * Matthew Turner – bass


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Certifications


References

Citations Sources *


External links


''Fin de Siècle''
at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fin de Siecle (album) 1998 albums The Divine Comedy (band) albums Setanta Records albums