The Divine Comedy

‘Bad Ambassador’ [Parlophone]

Possibly the jauntiest DC nugget from the wildly individual and understated Regeneration LP. Neil is back in playful, tongue in cheek mode but with his heart in the all the right places while comically crooning; “I wanna play with the big boys/I wanna ride with the tough guys on a Japanese motorbike/I wanna hold your hand/Hey, what’s your favourite band?” The strings and soaring melodies are back, but the pomp of yore is kept at several arms length. This time round, you can almost believe in Hannon’s honest confession; “I’m a bad ambassador for that elusive place you’re searching for.” I can think of far worse.