Here’s an unlikely phrase: ‘indie cricket concept album’. But The Divine
Comedy’s Neil Hannon has indeed teamed up with Thomas Walsh, an Irish
demi-pop star from the ‘90s band Pugwash, in an ode to the gentleman’s game. There are some lovely moments: the surrealist intro and outro is
light-hearted and atmospheric, Walsh’s whimsical tone on ‘Flatten The Hay’
and the driving piano on ‘Rain Stops Play’ are quite joyful, but as a pop
album it fails to convince. The record lurches between clichéd
harpsichord-driven ditties and cringeworthy soft-rock pop songs that rely on the inventiveness of their concept over the originality of their music.
Nat Davies
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