Album: “The Fish that Learned To Drown” by Dan O’Farrell & The Difference Engine
I was only discussing the other day in a random conversation with my youngest son, if a fish could drown or not. Then magically into my inbox arrive an album titled “The Fish That Learned To Drown” by Southampton grassroots stalwarts Dan O’Farrell & The Difference Engine. A band that I have come across many times before and one that’s output is always worth investigating. Their fourth album arrives at the start of this 2026 year like a cold, sharp bucket of water in the face. Bracing and troubling – like a tongue returning to a sore tooth – these songs probe life’s dark waters: loss of family, faith, community & self-confidence – but also remains empathetic and rousing, ultimately cathartic. Once you’ve scraped the bottom, the only way is up. Creation is always an act of joyful defiance apparently.
Based in Hampshire the band were formed from the ashes of John Peel-endorsed indie-band Accrington Stanley, the band bring layers of warmth and subtlety to the uncompromisingly lyrical alt-folk songs of Dan O’Farrell, English-teacher by day and angry, leftist complainer by night. The album was produced by Andy Lewis, who in recent years has won acclaim for his production work with Louis Philippe, Fay Hallam, Judy Dyble and more. The album was put together at Factory Road Studios in Eastleigh and no fish were actually drowned during the making of it… thankfully!!
In his own words Dan O’Farrell explains “The songs take a zig-zagging tour of the narrator’s struggles with life, ‘maturity’ and the joys of middle-age. Opener “Heartbreak Hostel” was written for Elvis Presley, but he never got back to us’. In “The Colonial Club” the personal angst becomes political – a gammon-baiting response to the pearl-clutching horror of the right to the sight of statues of slave-owners being chucked in the sea. Racing through the Dexy’s-inspired passionate danger of “Cyanide Desire”, – why do the things we love always have to kill us? – we land on the spiritual treatise why do the things we love always have to kill us? why do the things we love always have to kill us? of “God Etc.” – ‘I let Jesus take the wheel…he drove me off a cliff’. Like all lapsed cradle-Catholics, O’Farrell experiences the push-pull of his religious upbringing, searching for meaning as he tries to become as ‘nakedly human’ as possible. Side one ends with the double-whammy of “Sunny Weather” and “Alarm”, the first a Groucho Marx-quoting jazz-breeze where the narrator struggles to just chill in the sun – for gods sake!- and the second a pretty, shimmering exploration of how hard it is to communicate with the ones we love”.
“The album’s second half starts with another dose of dark humour: “Hang Me On The Wall” takes masochistic joy in imagining a series of life-ending scenarios, with co-vocalist Rick Foot getting all the best lines. The album’s two ‘cornerstone’ tracks are positioned carefully on side two. Track 2 ( or 7 on the CD), “Loss” tries to deal with the grief that hits us all – the howl of pain that emerges at the end of the song probably saying as much as all the preceding lyrics. Track 4 (10), “Goodbye”, returns to the theme of loneliness and miscommunication – the universal ache – yet the music soars. Sandwiched between these two party-anthems (!) comes the album’s poppiest track, “Asbestos Love”, a slightly demented paean to global-warming. The album’s closing tracks – “The Fish That Learned To Drown” and “Ursa Minor” – complete the arc, and – finally – offer some hope of struggle and growth, and then redemption and self-acceptance”.
At 12 tracks long, the album offers plenty to devour. In my usual album listening routine, I’ve taken the record with me over the past couple of weeks, playing it through my Samsung earbuds and the car’s Bluetooth while walking my two beagles in all manner of January weather. Dan’s ever-present, reassuring vocals deliver in a wide range of ways, showcasing an extensive depth of emotion entwined with sharp, quick-witted satire. The broad spectrum of instrumental styles keeps things engaging throughout.
The album kicks off with “Heartbreak Hostel”, a song that, by simply adding an “s” to the title, transforms an Elvis classic into a beautifully meandering tune filled with deep-rooted lyrics and layered irony. “The Colonial Club” follows with a wonderfully infectious quality, while “Cyanide Desire” brings driving momentum, packed with catchy musical arrangements and an ear-grabbing chorus that would easily lend itself to radio airplay. Lyrically, it poses the valid question of why the things we enjoy most such as fast food, smoking, alcohol, drugs—always seem to be the very things that can kill us.
“God Etc” uses clever lyrical imagination to explore the many directions religion can take us. Dan’s satirical observations are both amusing and thought-provoking, delivered with a soothing vocal and subtle backing that reassures the listener there is no malice behind the message.
A dose of “Sunny Weather” is something we could all use right now, and track five delivers a welcome injection of Vitamin D. Toe-tapping percussion, ever-present keys, and an understated guitar part that emerges around the three-minute mark make this one of the highlights of the collection, showcasing the considerable creative abilities of Dan and his band of merry men.
Things slow down somewhat with “Alarm,” featuring the soothing tones of glockenspiel alongside perfectly timed, clock-ticking rhythms and yet more impeccably placed guitar. One simple but striking lyric — “The words we’ve chosen just leave us frozen” — stands out as a particularly memorable moment.
“Hang Me On The Wall” features Dan and Rick duelling nicely on vocal duties, delivering a track with a darker, satirical tone and a tune that, after a few listens, impales itself firmly on the dark side of your cerebrum. Staying within that darker lyrical territory, “Loss” powerfully and emotionally describes what we go through when we lose someone we love.
At this point, the album has gone around more than a dozen times and several thousand steps have been racked up, hopefully loosing a few of the gain Christmas pounds in the process. As with all new material, the lack of familiarity has faded and the tracks have begun to shine brightly; even the lyrics — particularly the choruses — have started to fix themselves inside my head.
“Asbestos Love” shines especially brightly within this collection, detailing through its lyrics the perils of climate change. The tune carries a poppy sheen, driven by bright keyboard lines, vivid rhythms, melodic guitars, and Dan’s straight, no-nonsense vocal delivery. “Goodbye,” though gentler, opens with delicate piano, bass, and guitar lines before gradually ascending, pairing poignant lyrics with a notable guitar
solo.
Finally, we arrive at the penultimate title track, and I find myself hoping to learn from the Hampshire-based English teacher whether a fish could actually drown itself. While the answer to my burning question isn’t found within the lyrics, we are nevertheless gifted one of the most sublime songs on the record. This is a tune where Dan and his team of musicians truly excel, delivering a momentous piece of creativity and craft. I won’t attempt to describe it here; instead, I challenge the reader to give it a listen and enjoy it as much as I have. “It’s easy to be swept away by hurricanes…”
The final offering is “Ursa Minor”, a track named after the constellation of stars located in the far northern sky, nicknamed the Little Bear. The song feels like a bedtime story: the listener is the child, and Dan the compassionate storyteller, gently educating through his soft and tender lyrical delivery. It’s not a tune that sends you to sleep, but one that soothes and relaxes, wrapping up the album with warmth and calm.
Track Listing
Heartbreak Hostel
The Colonial Club
Cyanide Desire
God Etc
Sunny Weather
Alarm
Hang Me On The Wall
Loss
Asbestos Love
Goodbye
The Fish That Learned To Drown
Ursa Minor
Album Credits
Produced by Andy Lewis.
Band recordings engineered by Rob Sansome at Factory Road Studios, Eastleigh
Cover by Mark James.
All songs by Dan O’Farrell
Dan O’Farrell – Vocals, guitars, pedal-steel and glockenspiel
Rick Foot – Double-bass and vocals
Rufus Grig – Keyboards and vocals
Chris Walsh – Drums
Andy Lewis – Mellotron, sitar, samples and percussion
Charles Bueller (The Dead Freights) – lead guitar on ‘The Fish That Learned To Drown’
Buy The Album here.
Links
https://www.facebook.com/danofarrellandthedifferenceengine
https://danofarrell.com
Article By Dave Chinery (Chinners as I don’t to be called “Dave”)
