Absent Friends - The Divine Comedy

I really want to like this album. I always have since I bought it in a whirlwind shopping spree in Woolworths. Everything points to me liking it; interesting and witty lyrics, off kilter music, strings and a great voice. But somehow the constituent parts fail to hit the right chord. "It's not you, it's me", I keep thinking whilst putting the CD back on the shelf. And there it will sit for another twelve months or so. Then, after what surely must be a reasonable period of respite I'll give it another go.

And so this morning, there I was in my pyjamas starting at the CD spine of 'Absent Friends'. "Perhaps today will be the day my troublesome friend", I think to myself.

"And so prising the CD from its dusty resting place, he slips it into the CD drawer, sits down with a cup of tea and presses play. He thinks, optimistically, today may be the day", says the voice of my inner monologue. We all have then don't we?

There is no doubting that 'Absent Friends' is dramatic stuff; powerful strings and great, resonant vocals.....but within seconds a familiar feeling begins to well up inside. I cringe. Mmmm not a good sign. But I press on undeterred. By the time the CD gets to 'The Wreck of the Beautiful', I'm absent mindedly messing with my phone and my attention has drifted off somewhere else. "Blast! I must concentrate", I tell myself, putting the phone down and staring at the speakers as if they were truculent children. 'The Happy Goth', helps me maintain my attention. It's quite an amusing premise for a pop song. Chuckling to myself the album speeds towards the end. Thankfully.

So as the last few notes of 'Charmed Life' drift across the room and out of the door I'm still non the wiser. Yes I recognise the skill that has gone into making the album. I really do appreciate the lyrics but..... it made me cringe. Surely records aren't supposed to do that? And then it hits me! I know what the problem is! It's obvious when you think about it! It sounds like the soundtrack to a musical. And I hate musicals. With a passion. As soon as one appears on TV I'd rather be in another county. I fully realise that it's not a rational reaction, after all they are just like normal films but with singing - a bit like 'A Hard Day's Night'. But somehow they are different. Maybe it the fact that lyrics have been shoehorned into a melody; a melody that has been bent, twisted and cajoled into fitting around the lyrics. Lyrics that, for no particular reason other than they need a song in this scene, describe what we can blatantly see for ourselves. If only they had bothered to write a decent script. Or it could be the false bonhomie that precedes the songs. False bonhomie followed by a character repeating a line several times. Have they lost their mind? Then music starts....ahhhh they haven't lost their rminds but they are about to burst into song. In musicals this is perfectly acceptable behaviour. If you or I were to burst into song in the middle of our working day, signing along to an imagined orchestra that no-one else can hear, we'd probably get as far as the first chorus before we were carted away. Where is the music coming from? Have none of the other characters noticed that their on screen partners have started to si......oh now they are joining in. Why? How do they know the words? Have they been practicing in case only song can describe how they are feeling. AARRGGH MUSICALS -  I HATE THEM!!!!....... Unless of course you count 'The Blues Brothers'

So I think that is it. 'Absent Friends' reminds me of songs from a musical. It's irrational, illogical and over the top. But at least now I know, "It's not you, it's me".