page_title: 0898 Beautiful South
section_title: Styles and themes
hierarchical_section_title: 0898 Beautiful South / Music and lyrics / Styles and themes
caption_attribution_description: English: AIR Studios, Lyndhurst Road, Hampstead, London. Designed by Alfred Waterhouse and built in 1884 as Lyndhurst Road Congregational Church. Converted into recording studios in 1991.
context_page_description: 0898 Beautiful South, also referred to as 0898, is the third studio album by English band The Beautiful South. After the success of their previous work over 1989–1991, the band hired prolific record producer Jon Kelly and recorded the album at AIR Studios in London. The album contains a more "muscular" yet sometimes more sombre sound than their previous albums, although still entirely retains lyricist Paul Heaton's witty and bitter lyrical style. The album "deals in fragile melodies and harmonies, soulful but low-key instrumentation, and lyrics full of subtle social commentary and humour." The album title refers to the 0898 premium rate dialling code associated with sex hotlines in the UK at the time.
  The album was released in March 1992 by the band's record label Go! Discs. Four singles were released from the album, two of them prior to its release; "Old Red Eyes Is Back", "We Are Each Other", "Bell Bottomed Tear" and "36D". It reached number 4 on the UK Album Chart, unlike their previous two albums which reached number 2; the record company blamed this on the cover which showed ladies' faces on the back of terrapins' shells.
context_section_description: According to Roch Pairisen of Allmusic, "there are no big poses or walls of crunchy guitars on [the album]. Instead, the group – which includes three lead vocalists -deals in fragile melodies and harmonies, soulful but low-key instrumentation, and lyrics full of subtle social commentary and humour." He noted that "at times, the group even couches itself in the guise of a smooth lounge act, rebelling against current trends by having something to say while not making a racket about it," and noted that producer Jon Kelly has "contributed an incisive and full-bodied production" to the album, "a great improvement over the rather thin sound" of Choke. According to Craig Tomashoff and David Hiltbrand of Picks and Pans, the album contains "sweet pop music with insidious lyrics. It starts with the best pop melodies you can hum—sort of like Elton John Does Detroit. Harmonious piano arrangements blend with songwriter Paul Heaton's soulful vocals and occasional backing horns to create 12 songs that work like aural lithium." They noted the contrast between the happy music and dark lyrics, saying "one hit and you're happy for hours. Until you actually listen to what Heaton and his two co-lead vocalists, Dave Hemingway and Briana Corrigan, are saying. The tunes suggest light, happy odes to love. The words are dark, sardonic musings on human nature."
  According to Trouser Press, the album "features even more uplifting melodies and more balanced lyrics: 'Old Red Eyes Is Back', 'We Are Each Other' and the Corrigan-sung 'Bell-Bottomed Tear' benefit immeasurably by demonstrating a bit more compassion for their subjects. Heaton hits particular peaks in his dialogue songs. (He writes alternating-verse male/female numbers better than just about anyone.)" Marie Lamie, writing in The Rough Guide to Rock, said "there are some very sombre moments here, both musically and lyrically, making something of a new direction." A reviewer for Record Rewind Play said "the whole album is full of hints of the sinister, but compassion finds a way in."
caption: The album was recorded at AIR Studios in London (pictured in 2007).
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