I'm about to pick up his new record, and I'm pretty excited. He's been a personal favorite of mine for a few years now.

An iffy singer, but a very accomplished writer & arranger. His records are presented as a unified whole, more than just a collection of tunes. Great melodies, well crafted, interesting, odd.

But what I like most is how the music doesn't rely on trends or new technology. They sound like stuff that could have been done almost any time in the last 50 years.

He's all but unknown here in the states--other than the Target commercial that plays a bit of his song "All Possibilities" and maybe the soundtrack to the Hugh Grant movie "About a Boy"

If you like Beatles-esque (Strawberry Fields-type Beatles) stuff or the mellower side of Beck (who contributed handclaps to his last album) I recommend Badly Drawn Boy.

Nobody gives a shit! I guess in your defence, he couldn't be much more different than Prince.

It's slightly more upbeat than 1+1 is 1, but not so upbeat as Have You Fed The Fish. (my personal favorite)

The tracks are typical BDB, melodies & hooks that are familiar, but twisted in a way that you don't hear on the radio anymore.

He plays all the instruments on the record except bass & drums.

It will take a while to absorb (though nowhere near as long as his debut, Hour of the Bewilderbeast did) but that's part of what I love about his music. It's very rich.

From this thread:

http://forums.badlydrawnb....htm?p=778


"The album? I know from past Badly Drawn Boy albums that whatever my first listen's impressions are, they mean next to nothing compared to the settling in effect of time and repetition.



"The overall impression of this album is golden, brilliance, classic. Just put this sound beside any one of it's peers.. It seems like a painting so rich and framed in one of those giant gilded frames you find in the louvre... (OK I mean all this but I don't want to sound too over the top). Most of all it's just a great mature sound and I feel like I'm growing up and maturing by listening to it. Too bad I just don't think many people out there are ready at this point digest this feast. The good thing is (like all good things) they'll figure it out in time."



" I've just listened to it for the first time - its just finished playing.

And as usual with a BDB album I dont think I could pass verdict on it for a couple of months.

The first time I heard "One Plus One" I didnt really rate it. Then I went and saw him play it at in full at Festival Hall - still wasnt over impressed. Then a couple of weeks later I started listening to it on the headphones at work and it started to grow on me - probably due to having heard it played live. Now its easily my favourite BDB album and would be in my top-5-albums-of-all-time-ever list."



" I've listened to the album a few times now (which is a lot I guess considering I've only had it two days) and I must say that I love how real this music is. Like Pablo said, he's pretty much bearing his soul, and not just in Swimming Pool, in this entire album. I think it's amazing and beautiful.

I love powerful music, moving music. And though the word mellow implies neither powerful nor moving, this new album is. It's relaxing to a certain extent until you really start to listen, and it's truly amazing.

All of the musical elements of his pieces always shock me when compared to some popular music of today. He uses all sorts of instruments in combinations you wouldn't expect, but somehow it always works. His voice just adds to the overall wonderful effect. It's quite remarkable."



Not your typical fast food artist.