Like most people, I first heard Badly Drawn Boy via a Gap ad two Christmases ago.
The song was “The Shining,” which is one of those songs that will stop you in your tracks and make you realize that everything isn’t quite as miserable as it seems.
This week, England’s Badly Drawn Boy (a.k.a Damon Gough) released his new album, Have You Fed The Fish?, and he is once again proving to be at the top of his game.
After winning the Mercury Prize (England’s equivalent to the Grammys) for 2000s The Hour of Bewilderbeast, Gough became, as he puts it, “a minor celebrity.”
The title of his new album Have You Fed The Fish?, is a reference to Gough’s new lifestyle which involves rubbing shoulders with people he admires and wondering if it “means anything to him.” His constant self-effacing personality sets him apart from other pop and rock artists of this day and age. With his scruffy beard, seemingly sewed on winter cap and slight paunch, he is a likeable little limey.
On Fish, Gough adds a slight touch of soul to his songwriting and production. He also seems to be on a healthy diet of Blur, Self and David Byrne.
With Tom Rothrock (Beck, Elliott Smith) co-producing, Gough creates a masterpiece of an album that draws from a mighty broad palette of musical influences.
The only reference point that comes to mind is The Beatle’s The Beatles (you know, The White Album).
However, this is still a Badly Drawn Boy record, one moment brooding with dark strings and pensive piano parts, the next laughing childishly through gurgling synths and electric guitars. Gough’s signature gargantuan pop sound is still intact.
One such means to a huge sound on an album is to invite a host of respectable musicians in on the sessions, and Gough did just that. Joey Waronker (REM, Beck) and Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello & The Attractions) share drum duties on most of the album. Jon Brion, who has produced Aimee Mann, Rufus Wainwright, the Eels and Fiona Apple, also plays guitar on “How?” which serves as the centerpiece of the album.
“How?,” A song obviously about his two children, is just another insight into this man’s always-on-display tender side. He asks, “How can I find time to be with you again/How can I give you the answers you need when all I possess is a melody?”
Have You Fed The Fish? is easily one of the best records released this year.
For fans of his previous work, Fish is familiar enough to instantly enjoy, yet a departure in a way that will keep people guessing what this modest young Brit will do next.
For more information on Badly Drawn Boy please visit http://www.badlydrawnboy.co.uk

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