“Everything’s connected, the fibres intertwine.”
For three decades now, Neil Hannon, performing under the name The Divine Comedy, has serenaded the world with his baroque, orchestrated pop, as well as his bespoke outlook on not just life itself, but himself too.
But, as the old saying goes, time is of the essence. It had been 6 years since The Divine Comedy’s last studio album, 2019s “Office Politics”. In that time, let’s just say a lot has happened within the world. A lot. But not for Neil, who’s remained, for the most part, largely quiet in the background. But the artist and their spotlights must always find a new way to shine, and that spotlight happened to shine again with “Rainy Sunday Afternoon” releasing as the artist’s 13th studio album.
Remember how I said Neil wasn’t that active during this hiatus, that was kind of a lie. Neil wrote all the original songs in the latest blockbuster adaptation of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, simply entitled “Wonka”. Why bring it up? Well, it appears that Mr. Hannon might’ve left within his studio a golden ticket to the old, coveted chocolate factory, perhaps as memorabilia, and used it as inspiration for Rainy Sunday Afternoon.
Now, don’t fret, this isn’t an actual comedy or satire record, though a song with a title like ‘The Man Who Turned Into A Chair’ could leave that impression on first glance, even if the song reflects the comfort of a man’s idle chair, whether it be in his youth, or his elder days. Rather, Rainy Sunday Afternoon reflects Neil Hannon as an artist, branching out into discussing and exploring various emotions. It’s an album that always leaves you guessing as to what the next turn, the next exploration of an emotion could be, akin to the random nature of Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Opener ‘Achilles’ quotes a 1915 war poem by British Poet Patrick Shaw-Stewart in its chorus. Stewart was sent to fight at Gallipoli in WW1, near the city of Troy where Achilles died. The song appears to be sung from that perspective of a soldier, wondering if death at war would be as painful and tough as Achilles experienced. ‘I Want You’ is another song that paints a telling question, this time one of desire, as Neil wrestles with the simplicity of his one wish, compared to the outlandish dreams of others, from building cities and walls, to wanting to meet their heroes.
Supplementing an album of diverse emotions is a consistently maintained sound consisting of baroque instrumentation, strings and trumpets that often chime into choruses to blossom the songs and let them bloom. ‘All The Pretty Lights’ is about a young kid going Christmas shopping and the beauty that lay before his eyes, complete with serenaded strings, and sleigh bells in the chorus. ‘Mar-a-Lago by the Sea’ Is soft in its instrumental, guitar strings are slowly plucked away in a song that creates a chilled mood.
For the last of this emotional mood swing, ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’ is for my money the best song on here, in its near five-minute run time, its bespoke guitar and piano weave together for a song about the connection of love and loneliness, delivered in the reflective way that only Neil Hannon can pull off. And closer ‘Invisible Thread’ may leave you with a tear or two or a hundred down your face, as Neil explores the lengths of bonds and relationships we have with one another. Its best interpretation to me is of a parent singing to their child, as they prepare for their next part of their life, one in which their parents are no longer necessary to keep them afloat.
If you’ve listened to any previous Divine Comedy record before this one, Rainy Sunday Afternoon will not come as a shock to you, not just for how great it is, but for how in keeping with Neil Hannon it is. His intrinsic ability to sit on emotions in a way defined by him and himself only, coupled with consistent music that tugs at your heart. If I could trade out a golden ticket for this album, I’d make that choice within a heartbeat.
The Divine Comedy – Rainy Sunday Afternoon – Released 19 September 2025
