Badly Drawn Boy, ‘One Plus One is One’

By user • Jul 27th, 2004 • Category: Album Reviews

Nick Hornby would be turning over in his grave if he were, in fact, dead.

As it is, the author-turned-music critic is probably just disappointed in his friend Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy. Hornby was such a fan of BDB’s masterful debut in 2000, he licensed the eccentric introvert to supply the soundtrack to “About a Boy.” But after those two strokes of genius, Gough faltered in 2003 and now in 2004.

For a narcoleptic and self-proclaimed lazy artist, he sure is prolific. Yet, maybe BDB should take a break to find his lost muse. His fourth release is his weakest to date. His innovative instrumentation is now predictable and off-putting. His once genuinely sincere lyrics are now as thought out as the title’s arithmetic.

An average Gough is better than most, but he seemed too conservative for his own good.

Northern Star, July 27, 2004

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