Released: 2000
Badly Drawn Boy, born Damon Gough, is the typical self-indulgent indie icon. He began recording in 1997, forming his own label, Twisted Nerve, to release his material as "Badly Drawn Boy". He fit in nicely with other experimental pop artists like the Beta Band, and was hyped up to the point where he guested on U.N.K.L.E.'s 1997 mega celebrity collaboration
Psyence Fiction.
His first single, "Once Around the Block", is off of this album, and was BDB's first taste of the UK pop charts. In 2000 he was signed to a major label, XL, and released
The Hour of Bewilderbeast to much critical acclaim. The album went on to win the Mercury Prize for Best Album.
As a rising star in the indie pop scence, Gough was asked to write the entire musical score for the film
About a Boy, which was moderately successful, but nowhere near the greatness of
The Hour of Bewilderbeast. There have been two other Badly Drawn Boy releases, 2002's
Have You Fed the Fish?, and 2004's
One Plus One is One.
On the album, Gough plays as many as 8 instruments, at times becoming a small orchestra all by himself. He wrote and composed all of the songs, and many of them are filled with complex songwriting. Through all of the experimentation and self-indulgence however is a very good 63 minute album. The songs flow well together, but there is never a clear sense of where the album is going.
Credits:
Damon Gough - Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals, Slide Guitar, String Arrangements
Spencer Birtwhistle - Drums
Sean Kelly - Drums
Derrick Santini - Handclaps
Paul Anthony Taylor - String Arrangements
Andy Votel - Piano, Keyboards, Programming, Producer, Mixing, Effects, String Samples
Gary Wilkinson - Keyboards, Producer, Drum Programming, Siren
Andy Williams - Drums
Jez Williams - Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar
Notable Songs
The Shining
"The Shining" begins with a beautifully arranged string instrumental. This continues for 1:20 before giving way to a nice acoustic guitar riff, and softly sung British vocals. There is a nice sense of calm in his voice and in the acoustic guitar. The strings slowly return at the 2:30 mark. The verse is nice, and the chorus breaks away from the structure of the verse for a nice little change of pace. The song seems to build up with the strings, but they quickly give away to the guitars, and now just serve as an interlude between the vocal sections. The song gets a bit repetitive near the end, but it is pretty much a masterpiece.
Everybody's Stalking
This song is a bit more rocky in comparison to the soft album opener. There is a nice swirling guitar lick with a bit of echo and distortion on. There is a simple tamborine keeping the pace of the song. The vocals aren't as nice as the previous song, but they are adequate for the type of the song that it is. This is my favorite of the rock style songs on this album.
Fall in a River
This song starts off with a distant piano that is swirling around and slowly fading in, almost coming into focus in a way. There are nice little keyboard synth noises that come into the song too. The vocals sound like they are coming from behind some sort of waterfall or something, only without the noise of the water. Then suddenly there is a sound of a splash into a pool of water (a river), and the song that was building is over, the river noises continue for a little while and there is an acoustic intrumental outro.
Once Around the Block
This is the most famous Badly Drawn Boy song, and the single off of
The Hour of Bewilderbeast. If you haven't heard it, there is a funky shimmering wah-wah effect-laden guitar lick that drives the song. The percussion is a light tap of a cymbal, and the vocals are nice and crisp. There are some poppy choir-like background vocals, and all in all the song is textured flawlessy. The result is one amazing song. This is a contender for my favorite song in the genre, and is the best song on the album.
Pissing in the Wind
This is a folky sounding song. It is mostly driven by acoustic guitar. There are no drums, but just a tamborine at certain points. The vocals are sad and soft, but are brightened by the shimmering guitar and echoing string synths. The chorus is one of the high points of the album as he cries "Just give me something. I'll take nothing. Just give me something. I'll take nothing." There is a small part with a harmonica as he sticks to the same alt-country and folk sound throughout the song, adding a bluesy guitar near the end. A beauty of a song.
Recommended for fans of:
The Beta Band
Beck
Sondre Lerche
