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One Plus One Is One
[XL Recordings]
On the cover of this fourth album, Damon Gough, always wearing his woolly bonnet, is rooted in the middle of a room full of old fashioned wooden toys; he looks in the bottom of a box which probably hides some mysterious treasures with curiosity. And so does the listener of "One Plus One Is One" who enters here an extravagant universe. This record shaped as an Ali Baba's cavern, swarms with ideas and all kind of instruments: a very present piano, guitars (acoustic and electric), violin, and even a banjo, a melotron, a clarinet, bells, timpani, and children's choirs on one of the track... The melodies are somewhere between pop and folk, always sustained by an inspired songwriting and the délicatesse of an artisan's work. Could it be the return to Manchester, after a visit to California, that give this breath of fresh air to Badly Drawn Boy? Anyhow, his music sounds renewed, more refined than on his previous opus "Have You Fed the Fish". We noticed that this album is dedicated to the late Elliott Smith, a reference that springs to mind while listening to Badly Drawn Boy, although no comparisons can be enough to define his so peculiar work.
Laure Cornaire |
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