The Divine Comedy - Fin de siècle (1998)

Suitably end of the century concerns and music styles delivered with Neil Hannon's celebrated lyricism blending fin de siècle irony, social criticism, emotional alienation, into something serious and yet self-effacing because anything too serious would cheapen it: "she's not like the others/with their papers and their headphones on/she reads novels by French authors with loose morals." No doubt a minor triumph, problem is I can't get into the way it sounds.

A for effort, C for me going straight back to the effortless A Short Album About Love

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John Cale - Paris 1919 (1973)

Has more in common (atmosphere-wise) with folk than art or pop or the avant-garde or noise: more Something Else by The Kinks than anything else, which was also strangely folkish in its non-folkishness. It's the timelessness and pastoral-ness, I think. It might be a failure on Cale's part that his concept goes unnoticed even when the listener reads wartime atmospherics and then listens but still thinks of the record as a great companion-piece to The Kinks' masterpiece, or that for all his focus on literature it's only Thomas' childhood romanticism and Lear's nonsense which manage to stick, thus pushing his album way the fuck away from war or anything even remotely sinister... Too enigmatic for its own good, or too good for its own pretension? Sorry Mr Cale but your vibes are just too good

A+

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Bobbie Gentry - The Delta Sweete (1968)

1. Okolona River Bottom Band 2:57

2. Big Boss Man 2:56

3. Reunion 2:35

4. Parchman Farm 3:00

5. Mornin' Glory 2:57

6. Sermon 2:41

7. Tobacco Road 2:50

8. Penduli Pendulum 2:55

9. Jessye' Lizabeth 3:00

10. Refractions 2:20

11. Louisiana Man 2:35

12. Courtyard 2:58

Recommended for fans of country and/or soul 'cause the two come together in a way that's so country and so soul and in fact you should probably hear it anyway 'cause it's so good. You will love and respect it

B+

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