Since debuting in 2002 with “Hour of Bewilderbeast” Damon Gough, a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy has done nothing less than amaze during his entire musical career. Now with three albums and a full soundtrack under his belt Damon has returned with “Born in the U.K.” which has to be considered his best work yet. Starting out on Indie U.K. record label XL Recordings than forming Twisted Nerve Records, with Andy Votel, which carried him through most of his career Damon now finds himself on big time U.K. label EMI and astralwerks for the U.S.
A proverbial “one-man-band” in the studio, and on stage, Damon is known for playing a variety of instruments including the guitar and piano. His whimsical style of writing and playing draws directly from his past and present experience. Damon, being the very personal guy that he is, draws influences such as “Have You Fed the Fish” drew from his small, but growing, celebrity status, and drops a few names in the album. And “One Plus One Is One” relates to the death a close friend and the loss of his grandfather during WWII. Now with “Born in the U.K.” Damon comes back home, portraying life and growing up in, well, the U.K.
If you’re a fan of Badly Drawn Boy, and happen to have the majority of his albums, you’ll notice the subtle change through the years. The changes of a true maturing artist. This is really how a musician should develop over the years. Born of the U.K. brings a more “human” aspect to his music and really brings back a lost art of music. Storytelling. Plain and simple storytelling, reminiscent of the 60s and 70s with that warm full sound. The album is simply epic and classic Badly Drawn Boy. And if you listen closely to a few couple tracks you’ll probably figure out that Damon is a Bruce Springsteen fan. Despite the somewhat poor critical reviews and low acceptance in the U.S. Badly Drawn Boy still flourishes as a cult favorite. Really he is one of those artists where you have to start from square one to “get” his music. But for what it is, it is nothing short of amazing. So if you’re an old fan you’ll probably have “Born in the U.K.” already. If you’re a new listener give him a try, get his album, listen to I a few times and it’s bound to grow on you. Damon is truly the definition of an artist.
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