Neil Hannon will be crowned a genius years from now, the same way Scott Walker is revered by a generation of sensitive UK kids like Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, and, not surprisingly, Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon.  Hannon writes unabashedly gaga love songs like “Perfect Lovesong,” with arrangements that would make Neil Diamond blush (or flush with pride), then turns around and writes more disturbing bits like “Note To Self,” a daily journal that reads like he’s seen Pi a few too many times (“Monday, restate my assumptions. Heaven and hell do not exist”).  He doesn’t play the cad quite so much on Regeneration as he did on past efforts, but he has not spared his forked tongue.  (“Intelligence is dangerous, a virus of the brain you pass around. Dumb it down”) Nigel Godrich, the producer of choice for Radiohead and Travis, gives Regeneration more edge than previous Divine Comedy efforts, and that comes in handy.  Still, despite the darker production and harsher arrangements, there’s no denying the uncanny knack for melody for Hannon possesses, never mind a baritone to kill for.  Now that Radiohead, Coldplay and Travis have made the US safe for UK artists, maybe Divine Comedy will see a little extra sunlight as a result.  I can only hope.