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Down In The Street Below: A monumental track for an opener. Now that is rare. It starts off very gently, with only a piano and a little banjo then the whole orchestra comes in. A typical Divine Comedy song that wouldnt have sounded out of place on A Short Album About Love. Truly a classy song.
The Complete Banker: Neil take on the crisis and a dig at those people who put us in it. The words are brillant, the chorus as well. A second piano based song and a good singalong, really.
Neapolitan Girl: An upbeat song about a girl (!). Harpsy chords, guitars, and awesome violins in the background. I could see it being a single.
Bang Goes The Knighthood: Piano’s back with an accordion for that ballad that’s A Lady Of Certain Age’s cousin, though i think it’s scarier and better, coz to me Lady lacked a change of melody, some kinda chorus… This is another great storytelling from Neil that only he can write.
At The Indie Disco: Well you know this one. This is a bit of a ufo on this record. I like it, it’s obviously a single, but i dont know. Thought it didnt quite fit. My wife loves it, it’s on repeat all day (not that you really care ).
Have You Ever Been In Love: Piano again. That one is a slower Birth, Death & Marriages, which i love. It didnt quite catch me on first listens, but now i love it. Features female backing vox and orchestra as well. A sentimental song about Love found in another person’s eyes.
Assume The Perpendicular: Of course it’s different, but i thought it could have been on Liberation. Piano, trumpets, banjo & all that jazz. Typical orchestration from Neil in the 2000, but the song is very Liberation-esque. Another great singalong.
The Lost Art Of Conversation: Booklovers‘ successor, in spirit. No author listing here (well no, almost!), Whistling, pounding drums and a groovy piano throughout the song, and it ends with people talking all over each other.
Island Life: A song about life on island (no s**t sherlock). Really really sweet. It wouldnt have sounded out of place on Absent Friends. Features a female vocalist, but it’s everyhting Come Home Billy Bird wasn’t, ie good. Also feature a terrific orchestra part. By The way, the intro & outro are too long Neil…
When A Man Cries: Hum, well i didn’t really get into this one. A sad song about when men cry (yes, another d’oh from Andy).
Can You Stand Upon One Leg: Oh how this one is gonna be hated . It’s really really silly. It’s basically Neil challenging you to do various stuff. It’s piano based again with some kind of circus-like or cartoon-like orchestration (see Sgt Pepper’s Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! ). I love it, except the frickin key change (stop that now !).
I Like: An upbeat song to end the record, again piano & drums based tune. The melody is a bit weak compared to the other songs, the chorus is catchy though. It could be a single. Took quite a few listens to dig it, but i do now.
Bang Goes The Knighthood is a weird record from start to end. You keep thinking „this one could have been on that record, this one could have been on that other record“, but in the end they all fit, bar Indie Disco. It has that „live“ feeling, but really different than VFTCM. It’s less produced and the instruments have room to „breath“. Especially the vocals, that are close to what TDC is on stage. And again, Ireland, Ireland! should have been on it, maybe as hidden track or something.
Anyway, dont be put off by the first listens, it really took me 5 or 6 to get into it, a first for a TDC record. It’s no Casanova or Promenade, but hey, those records were written in a special time, the mid 90s had something in the air 2010 has not. I think it’s stronger than Absent Friends or VFTCM which lacked focus and a few stronger songs (see the lost classic Absolute Power)and i cant wait for the bsides. I guess some people are gonna disappointed but i’m just glad Neil keeps doing good records. He’s already done a few classics, it’s hard to beat that. To be clear, it’s NOT, as some people hinted, a record with throwaway songs inbetween two other projects he’s working on. Thumbs up.
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