| While the lesson in mathematics might be questionable, the intricate songs of Badly Drawn Boy�a �One Plus One is One� speak more to the brain�s memories than its calculations.
The British one-man band also known as Damon Gough veers sharply between the bombastic orchestration on songs like �This is That New Song� and the beautifully simple piano of �Another Devil Dies.� Just how the songs can come one after the |
| Badly Drawn Boy |
| One Plus One is One |
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| other and neither feels out of place shows Gough�s true talents.
After rave reviews for his debut �House of Bewilderbeast,� BDB followed with the film soundtrack to �About a Boy,� an overly stylized work that sounded much better on screen than in album format. �One� marks a return to the debut�s long, satisfying sense of completeness found so rarely in today�s albums. That means quick ditties, long codas and strange sounds in between (the children�s chorus on �Holy Grail� sounds like the Beatles� �Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill� sans Yoko). Through it all, Gough�s deep voice and cloudgazing brand of nostalgia for loves lost and found keep the songs within their means. Such as on �Four Leaf Clover:� �You know I�m not the kind to say that it�s over/ We�ll be rubbing shoulders once again in the sun.� After a brief dalliance with Paul McCartney levels of quaint rock, Badly Drawn Boy is back and ready both to break and repair your heart, if not the brain. |
| Originally published in the November edition of Take ONE, as written by Hank Brockett |
| Math scores in Britain take another hit. |