{"id":851,"date":"2016-09-02T03:00:44","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T07:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/?p=851"},"modified":"2016-11-08T23:57:13","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T04:57:13","slug":"new-release-roundup-the-divine-comedy-angel-olsen-slim-cessnas-auto-club-warhaus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/2016\/09\/02\/new-release-roundup-the-divine-comedy-angel-olsen-slim-cessnas-auto-club-warhaus\/","title":{"rendered":"New Release Roundup: The Divine Comedy, Angel Olsen, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Warhaus"},"content":{"rendered":"

MUSIC<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. The Divine Comedy<\/a> \u2013 Foreverland<\/em>
\nThe Divine Comedy\u2019s latest Foreverland<\/em> is definitely a pop record, but of what age? The ornate arrangements on Foreverland<\/em>, embellished by pizzicato strings, grand flourishes, and wide-open melodies, it brings to mind Gershwin or Rogers and Hammerstein more than anything in the current Top 40. A number of tunes sound like they should be crooned through a megaphone \u2013 \u201cI Joined the Foreign Legion (To Forget)\u201d chief among them. Even the concept is a romantic association of a time long past. One could still join the Foreign Legion to forget, but no one mentions it like they used to when people were reading Beau Geste in the \u201820s. \u201cFunny Peculiar,\u201d a duet with singer\/songwriter Cathy Davey, brings to mind a colorfully painted stage set of a park in summer and two lovers twirling parasols as they swoon and sing to each other. It\u2019s utterly charming. \u201cCatherine the Great\u201d starts with a whirling harp and a majestic horn line before giving way to classic pop beat and an overactive harpsicord. There\u2019s a bit of Beatles in there, too. The \u201cooh-la-las\u201d could have been sampled from \u201cNowhere Man.\u201d Ages shift, timelines mix. And it\u2019s all done with a fine sense of humor. Hard not to love the abrupt ending of \u201cOther People,\u201d as Hannon signs off with a rushed, \u201cAnd I blah blah blah.\u201d On the snappy chamber pop nugget \u201cHow Can You Leave Me On My Own,\u201d a panicked lover sings, \u201cWhen you leave I become a moron, a beer-swilling, time-killing moron\/I surgically remove all the green food from my diet\/I know I should be reading but I\u2019m too lazy to try it.\u201d The Divine Comedy might not be the only band writing baroque pop, but I can\u2019t think of anyone whose doing it this much confidence and loveliness.
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