A Short Album About Love

*Nice musicianship but its gets a little TOO heavy and serious over the course of the album

I was honestly expecting to hate A Short Album About Love but it was surprisingly pretty good. This album pretty much says exactly what it is on the tin, its a short 31 minute album where the lyrics are about love so i will give points for honesty. This album feels like a mix between Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Morrissey and RPG town themes. The strings on offer were rather nice and the lyrics were pretty alright for the most part. I also like that this album was short just like it says in the name. I will admit that there were points where the constant orchestral instruments and the lyrics could be a bit pretentious but i don't think its really enough to tank the album too badly. Overall, it's a pretty good listen.
Best Song: Timewatching
Worst Song: In Pursuit Of Happiness

The last time I came across The Divine Comedy they were backing Ute Lemper on an album that was so overcooked as to be just unpleasant.

And so here they are again with a sound that seems like a Broadway show tune that didn't know when to say "enough".

That melodrama is at the service of songs that display all the wit and profundity of a toothpaste jingle.

All that meat and no potatoes.

Een beetje een concept, een beetje ouderwetse zang, een beetje gestaar naar schoenen, een beetje slechte humor: een beetje vergeetbaar.

Another album that sucks in its own right, but really extra sucks in the context of all the great albums left off this list.

Ahhh - love a bit of the Divine Comedy!

This is a short and sweet album. I just find the songs lovely. Highlight being Everybody Knows (Except You).

I get why the Device Comedy are an acquired taste (and you do need to be 'in' on the tongue in cheek approach they have), but they're worth it. The Greatest Hits (A Secret History) is a great introduction to their peak years.

Solid 4

I really dig a few production and arrangement choices here, but overall, I just don't dig this type of music that music and I really don't like these types of vocalists.

2.5/5

I liked it. Didn't love it. Love the Americans reviewing not clearly not understanding what tongue-in-cheek is.

You just don't get it, do you. The clue is in the name. Divine Comedy. So it's not a comic album but it's gloriously satirical and ironic.
There are obviously a lot of people working their way through this list that are totally up their own ass.

This was a great listen and I was hooked from the first song. Pretty consistent and I will definitely save some of these songs. 8/10

the first song's lyrics are a little cringey. the whole album is kinda cringe

Несподівано для мене непоганий чембер-поп, пісня Someone взагалі дуже сподобалась.

WHHHYYYYYY!!!!!????? 😭
WHY are there two albums by this person on the list?

Hurrah! one of my favourite albums by one of my favourite artists, though I do prefer Promenade by them.

This is a sublime album who would think that an album full of love songs could sound so fresh and non-syrupy and Neil Hannon’s sonorous voice is just the icing on the sugar free cake. Just listening to the opening bars of this filled me with the same excitement I had when I first bought it.

I actually sent the song “If” to my children, because 790 albums in, this was the oddest song I’ve ever heard.
I.5 stars for this album overall. The lyrics are weird enough that I probably will give it 2, but musically not enjoyable.

“If you were a horse I’d clean the crap out of your stable and never complain” is an actual lyric. I have to listen to this stable full of crap, and I’m doing plenty of complaining. How the hell did this lounge singer shit make it onto this list?

Never heard of this before. It was ok I guess, but it seemed really cheesy to me.

Forgettable orchestral pop.

The most pressing question raised by A Short Album About Love is what exactly it’s doing on a list of 1001 essential albums. Not because it’s terrible — it isn’t — but because “not terrible” and “essential” are very different arguments, and this record only really makes the case for the former.
Neil Hannon is clearly talented within his specific lane. The orchestral arrangements are lush and carefully constructed, and the chamber pop aesthetic is executed with genuine craft. But the theatrical baritone, the arch romantic sensibility, and the unabashedly narrow emotional palette add up to something that feels more like a very polished niche product than a record with any broad claim to importance or influence. “If” crystallizes the problem — a song so self-consciously whimsical it tips from charming into silly without quite noticing.
Seven songs, one mood, zero urgency. It’s pleasant enough in the moment and completely forgettable once it ends. There’s no reason to return to it and no clear reason it belongs in conversation with the genuinely essential records on this list.

Lekker dramatische popliedjes, grenst af en toe aan een Broadway-productie. Grappig geschreven, maar had geen minuut langer hoeven duren.