Like Comedy
Like Comedy is the ninth studio album from Scottish folk rock duo the Proclaimers, released in 2012 on Cooking Vinyl. The album reached number 31 on the UK charts. The album's first single was "Spinning Around in the Air", which reached No. 17 on the UK Indie Singles Chart.
Content and style
Musical style
Like Comedy has been categorised as a blue-eyed soul album, stylistically. The Scotsman described the record as "consistent collection of unvarnished Celtic soul". The song "Thought Of You" was described by AllMusic's James Monger as "rocking" and "radio-ready", while "After You're Gone" was described as the "bruised, yet still hopeful" sister ballad to the duo's 1988 hit "Sunshine on Leith".Lyrics and themes
Lyrics on Like Comedy dealt chiefly with themes of love and relationships, as well as those of ageing, language and belief systems. The Scotsman described the songwriting on the album as "thoughtful and witty".Critical reception
Like Comedy received an aggregate score from Metacritic of 71/100, suggesting "generally favorable reviews", based on 6 critics. In a review by Andy Gill, The Independent professed the album to feature "their ebullient charm in large dollops" and described the song "Whatever You've Got" to share "the rolling, singalong appeal" of the duo's previous hits.Describing Like Comedy, Irish Independent opined that the blue-eyed soul of the band "still shines bright, especially on the tender ballads".
Personnel
;The Proclaimers- Craig Reid – vocals
- Charlie Reid – acoustic guitar and vocals
- Jerry Crozier Cole – acoustic and electric guitars
- Steve Evans – electric and bass guitars, piano and drums
- Clive Jenner – drums
- Beth Porter – cello
- Katie Stone Lonergan – violin
- Zac Ware – mandolin
- David Macnab – banjo
- Conor Breen – double bass
- Steve Evans – producer, string arrangements and additional programming
- Tom Dalgety – additional programming
- Lewis MacDonald – cover design