Fin de Siècle (French: "End of the century") is the sixth album by Northern Irish pop band the Divine Comedy.

During this time, the relationship between the band and their label Setanta Records was straining as a result of heated discussions over tour costs and studio sessions.

They recorded their next album in three studios (September Sound, Olympic and The Dairy) with Jon Jacobs as the main producer and Hannon co-producing.

During this period, the band's relationship with their label Setanta Records was deteriorating, with discussions about studio sessions and tour budgets resulting in heated debates.

[5] Fin de Siècle was recorded at September Sound, Olympic Studios and The Dairy, with Jon Jacobs acting as the main producer and co-production from Hannon.

[4] AllMusic reviewer Jack Rabid said the Scott Walker influences on the band's previous albums had "largely diminishe[d]... if not actually eras[ed]" by this point.

[10] In one of the verses, Hannon criticises the tabloid press over their role with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, alongside the British public who blame the newspapers while continuing to buy them.

[4][6][14] The album's closing track "Sunrise", which was written around the time of the Good Friday Agreement, sees Hannon reminisce about his childhood upbringing in Enniskillen, as well as ponder Northern Ireland's future.

[5][14] The Divine Comedy released a split single with Shola Ama, contributing a cover of "I've Been to a Marvellous Party" (1938) by Noël Coward.

[15] Fin de Siècle was released on 31 August 1999; its artwork is a monochrome image featuring Hannon in funeral director attire.

[11][18] Two versions were released on CD: the first with "London Irish" and "Time Lapse", while the second featured "Chasing Sheep Is Best Left to Shepherds" and "Little Acts Of Kindness".

Rabid noted that the songs "though pleasant, don't quite scale the heights Neil Hannon has before: nothing is as arresting" as their previous album, outside of three of the tracks.

[9] Kevin Harley of Record Collector said it "tipped the jokes and arrangements towards overload, though a tempering beauty emerged" on songs such as "Sunrise" and "The Certainty of Chance".

[37] NME writer James Oldham echoed a similar sentiment, stating that it was "toweringly ambitious and painfully preposterous, it lurches from the insubstantial to the melodramatic in the blink of an eyelid".

Combining bombast and longing, the surreal with the terrifying, evoking past grandeur while examining today and our future, the album was Hannon's most mature and rounded work to date.