Badly Drawn Boy Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
After a bout with writer's block left most of what would have been the fifth Badly Drawn Boy album on the scrap heap, Damon Gough regrouped by writing a set of songs inspired by growing up in the United Kingdom. The results are Born in the U.K., an album that, of course, nods to Bruce Springsteen's rousing-yet-searching Born in the U.S.A. (the Boss is also thanked in the liner notes), but also feels like it's trying to win -- and impress -- as big an audience as possible. At times, Born in the U.K. is impressive, but not necessarily with its most ambitious moments. After the relatively restrained One Plus One Is One, Gough returns to the elaborate, heavily arranged sound of Have You Fed the Fish? for most of the album, and too often, his words and melodies end up drowning in their busy surroundings. "Nothing's Gonna Change Your Mind" is a particularly unfortunate casualty, a song with good bones that's done in by strings that are somehow massive and fussy at the same time. Meanwhile, "Welcome to the Overground," with its huge choir and equally giant guitars and pianos, sounds like it was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber instead of Badly Drawn Boy. To be fair, Gough does harness the album's widescreen sound effectively at times: "Degrees of Separation" is the closest Born in the U.K. comes to clearly elaborating on its concept, setting memories of the Thatcher era to rock that nods to "God Save the Queen," both the national anthem and the punk anthem. "Journey from A to B" is another standout that makes the most of its Springsteen and Phil Spector homages. As the album unfolds, Gough seems to get his footing; it's as though he spends the first half of the album trying to wow his audience but only proves impressive once he gets rid of the pretense. Enough of Born in the U.K.'s second half works well that it makes the album's early missteps even more mystifying: "Walk You Home Tonight"'s hints of blue-eyed soul and Motown nail the sophisticated but accessible sound that Gough strains for in other places, as do "The Way Things Used to Be"'s slight country twang and "Long Way Round (Swimming Pool)"'s Burt Bacharach-style pop. Still, it's more than a little odd that Gough keeps trying this grandiose direction, when the smaller, more idiosyncratic, far more personal sound of The Hour of Bewilderbeast and About a Boy won him fans in the first place. Even though Gough intended Born in the U.K. for a wider audience, it's likely that only the most devoted Badly Drawn Boy fans will enjoy -- or have the patience for -- the attempts at epics here. His voice and songwriting are so engaging that they don't need to be propped up by impressive-seeming arrangements. As with Have You Fed the Fish? and One Plus One Is One, Born in the U.K. is at its best when Gough shares something personal, instead of writing for an audience of "everybody" that doesn't actually exist. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After the concise About a Boy soundtrack and the overdone Have You Fed the Fish?, Damon Gough (aka Badly Drawn Boy) still seems to be searching for balance on his fourth album, One Plus One Is One. Even the album's name contains conflicting wishes for simplicity and multiplicity, along with suggesting a relationship's theory of mathematics. Most of the songs here revolve around love's simplicities and complexities in settings that range from unadorned to elaborate. One Plus One Is One starts out simple and strong, with the title track, "Easy Love," and the Jethro Tull-esque (but in a good way) "Summertime in Wintertime" cataloging some of the additions and subtractions in Gough's life while sounding like late summer in the English countryside. Songs like these and the lovely "This Is That New Song" may get Badly Drawn Boy fans' hopes up that this is the album they've been waiting for since The Hour of Bewilderbeast. One Plus One Is One does have some of the seemingly effortless grace of Gough's will o' the wisp tour de force, but unlike that album, this set of songs feels more grounded and, like most of his work after About a Boy, the heavy lifting in his music is more apparent. As the album unfolds, it gets increasingly baroque, meandering, and logy; not only are there overly lavish Have You Fed the Fish? flashbacks like "Take the Glory" and "Holy Grail," songs that are otherwise successfully simple, such as "Logic of a Friend," are tricked out with unnecessarily busy arrangements. Certainly, choices like the kids choir on "Year of the Rat" -- not to mention lyrics like "If we hold on, we can find some new energy" -- are easy targets, but in this case, Gough manages to pull off the kind of vulnerable, wide-eyed optimism that usually gets short shrift in the too-cool-for-school indie world. Still, it's arguable whether or not these more grandiose songs have more impact than beautifully succinct ones like "Fewer Words" and "Four Leaf Clover." The U.S. version of One Plus One Is One further gilds the lily with two bonus tracks, the well-intended but undernourished "Don't Ask Me I'm Only the President" and the musically hyperactive "Plan B," both of which pad the album out to over an hour. Gough's music seems to be undergoing the usual growing pains of moving beyond a landmark work, and a landmark debut in particular; it's possible that he's moving into the craftsman phase of his career, refining the territory he's already staked out instead of claiming more. There are times when One Plus One Is One is simply too much, and the fresh spin that Gough brought to the British singer/songwriter tradition in his earlier work is missed, but he's still a fine addition to it. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
'Have You Fed the Fish?'
Release Date 1/1/2002
Tracks 15
Label Twisted Nerve/XL
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The glossy production on Badly Drawn Boy's Have You Fed the Fish? adds a brassy sheen to even the most seemingly heartfelt songs, such as "You Were Right," which features the line "I'm turning Madonna down/And I'm calling it my best move." Actually, this lyric encapsulates many of Have You Fed the Fish?'s characteristics at once -- it's trying to be quirky and yet mainstream at the same time, it's initially cute and yet a little too clever-clever. Songs like the jangly, off-kilter funk of "Using Our Feet," the title track, and "40 Days, 40 Fights" are similar. Not coincidentally, the shorter songs and vignettes that dot Have You Fed the Fish? reveal more of Badly Drawn Boy's strengths -- the delicate, acoustic "I Was Wrong," the lush instrumental "Centerpeace," and the sweet, Lennon-y love song "Instrumental Lines" recall the dazzling, kaleidoscopic beauty of The Hour of Bewilderbeast. Yet for every misstep there are successes like the witty funk-pop of "The Further I Slide" and "All Possibilities," which blends disco strings and mariachi horns into a bittersweet yet uplifting gem. "What Is It Now?" is a quintessential Badly Drawn Boy single, while "How" is a searching ballad that features the motion, emotion, and surprises that define Damon Gough's best work, and recalls the self-reflexive style of singer/songwriters like Don McLean and Elton John to boot. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It was an odds-on favorite that Badly Drawn Boy's warped yet sunny vision of pop would fit in well with a Nick Hornby novel-turned-movie (especially one about a sensitive, literate, slightly confused man struggling with the responsibilities of most persons his age). Still, there were several unknowns going into the project. Could an artistic iconoclast like Damon Gough control himself when forced to conform by writing a set of songs for specific situations? Would his collection of eccentric production touches, pure honey to any introspective music fan, make any sense in the context of a highly anticipated, wide-release film? Could he even write an entire soundtrack, during an era when most artists hardly average an album every three years? While a first listen proves that Gough's songwriting smarts are so powerful and wide-ranging they work in any context (much less pop songs for movies), several listens are necessary for its real brilliance to shine through. In a similar fashion to the work of Harry Nilsson, his closest pop forebear, a Badly Drawn Boy song is deceptively simple; his pleasant melodies often cloak a set of sharp, thoughtful lyrics and many graceful harmonic turns. Gough's voice, emotional with just a hint of gravel, sounds perfect behind the Hollywood sheen of these arrangements, with Tom Rothrock behind the boards. The single "Silent Sigh" is the highlight, with Gough masterfully tripping over his lines and accentuating the title with his breathy delivery. It's the cumulative weight, however, that really impresses. Each of these songs works well -- even the tossed-off electro-pop pieces "S.P.A.T." and "File Me Away" -- in either the delightful context of the movie or as a stand-alone work. Though both artist and label hedged bets by explaining it away as an outside work and not the "official" Badly Drawn Boy sophomore album, it's difficult to imagine how Badly Drawn Boy could've improved on The Hour of Bewilderbeast any better than this astonishing work. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'The Hour of Bewilderbeast'
Release Date 6/23/2000
Tracks 18
Label XL
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
What has the field of lo-fi slacker pop come to when faced by an LP as ambitious and entertaining as Badly Drawn Boy's The Hour of Bewilderbeast? Despite all attempts to sabotage his songwriting and production with innumerable experimental tidbits, songs within a song, and (seemingly) tossed-off arrangements, Damon Gough has to face the fact that he wrote and produced over a dozen excellent songs of baroque folk-pop for his album debut, and the many gems can't help but shine through all the self-indulgence. The sprightly orchestration for cello and trumpet (Gough's own) that begin the album are eventually taken over by the sparse guitar pickings and wistful folky sunshine of "The Shining," which veers into the skewed slide guitar and ominous tone of "Everybody's Stalking." Gough rarely pauses for breath (even when he's doing a ballad) or follows any traditional sense of album flow, but after a listen or two, The Hour of Bewilderbeast is revealed as a shambling masterpiece of a pop album. Most of these songs are Gough's entirely (he plays as many as eight instruments), with occasional help from friends like Twisted Nerve co-labelhead Andy Votel and assorted drummers for accompaniment. His songwriting is great, but Gough's twisted sense of humor helps the album shine as well, as on "Fall in a River," where the down-a-lazy-river feel carries through to the point where not just Gough but the entire production is submerged with a splash and attendant warping of the sound. The Hour of Bewilderbeast surely isn't a traditional pop album, but a continually beguiling trip through lo-fi postmodern folk that draws as much from Harry Nilsson as Beck. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
