The Hour of Bewilderbeast Music

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by: Badly Drawn Boy

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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: Rating: - sloppy, but worthwhile After the first listen, Badly Drawn Boy's The Hour Of Bewilderbeast could easily be construed as Badly Done Beck. Cynics would say that Damon Gough owes a heck of a lot to American indie artists like Beck, Lou Barlow, and Mark Eitzel, and his lo-fi style is about six years too late. Overflowing with kooky combinations of instruments, studio effects, and lyrics that beat the listener over the head with wide-eyed charm and precociousness (much like being pummeled by Nerf balls), it's easy to get lost in this cd, which at first sounds like a big old mess (that jumbled feel of the record is conveyed on the collage album cover). But then it gets its hooks in you. Underneath all the home studio knob-twiddling are some real pop-rock treasures. 'The Shining', which has been used in a well-known Gap Christmas ad, beats Belle & Sebastian at their own game; while the Scottish collective failed to live up to their early promise this year, Gough has created a gorgeous acoustic song with a string section enhancing the gentle, Nick Drake-like melody. 'Everybody's Stalking' takes a darker turn, while 'Stone On The Water''s acoustic guitar riff sounds lifted straight off Led Zeppelin III. The title track is a nice instrumental, while 'Magic In The Air' is so Stephen Merrit-like in its pop deftness that you swear you've heard the song before, it sounds that comfortably familiar. Bewilderbeast's best songs are its three singles. 'Another Pearl' sports a slinky piano melody over an irresistable three-chord riff while Gough sings some of the more inexplicably pretentious lyrics you'll hear this year ("Follow the circle sur le plage/On a mono-coloured trip voyage"). Speaking of irresistable, nothing beats 'Once Around The Block', easily the catchiest song on the album; the 'doo-boo-doo-ba-da-da' chorus over the shuffling beat makes this one of the sweetest songs you'll ever hear. 'Disillusion', recorded with fellow UK mates Doves, is a bouncy tune that is also fun to listen to. Being such an ambitious record, Bewilderbeast has both hits and misses. The (thankfully) brief 'Body Rap' is idiotic and useless, while 'Fall In A River' starts off nicely but stops suddenly with a big kersploosh sound effect (get it? groan...). 'Cause A Rockslide' is a pretty song, but it has several minutes of overbearing studio noodling that tries your patience. On an album like this, in the end you giddily take the good with the bad. Damon Gough swings for the fences repeatedly, and while he doesn't connect every time, his successes more than make up for it. I reacted indifferently to the album at first, but now I love it. Badly Drawn Boy is far better than being just the Next Beck, and his future recordings will only get better. Rating: - Lives up to the hype - and less!! This is an excellent debut album from BDB. The key word is "debut". I don't think it's really fair to compare this to Elliott Smith, unless you want to compare it to HIS solo debut, Roman Candle; nor is it fair to compare it to anything other than anyone else's debut album. That said, there is more than enough going on here to warrant a lot of the hype. This is probably one of the most diverse and ambitious debuts I've heard (up there with Mellow Gold), but at the same time sounds like a collection of home recordings and demos (like Mellow Gold). That's where the Beck comparisons end, though. This is much more sincere and much less self-consciously smug than anything Beck has done since MG. Think early Elliott Smith, Nick Drake (and hence, Belle & Sebastian), and Simon & Garfunkel, with a bit more light-heartedness than any of those artists. I don't hear any Springsteen influence myself. The DIY asthetic is very apparent throughout, but the songs are strong and the variety of sounds (cello, vibes, french horn, drum machines, etc.) keep things interesting. Definitely an artist to watch. Rating: - Startling Debut! The first album by Badly Drawn Boy has been released amidst much hype--and believe me the hype is well founded. Badly Drawn Boy is basically the brainchild of Damon Gough from Manchester,England.The early e.p.'s showed great promise,and this promise has come to fruition on an album of startling variety. The influence of sixties folk musician Nick Drake seems to be all the rage at the moment.When the first notes of the first song 'The Shining' are struck I was expecting a c.d. of 18 mellow tracks.It starts off with a gentle cello-horn instrumental,then Gough adds some vocals to this beautifully mellow opening.Then track 2-'Everybody's Stalking' changes the mood totally,as it's driven by a ferocious bass line and it doesn't half rock!This is the magic of this c.d.,Gough has the ability to change the sound,the influence,the mood with consumate ease.Another example of this comes at track 8-'Body Rap' which sounds like one of those Beastie Boy,D.J. Shadow instrumental interludes.This leads straight into 'Once Around The Block' a gentle r/b piece,complete with wah-wah guitars,Blues lead guitar and excellent harmonious vocals.You may think all this mish mash of influences may make the c.d. very disjointed-but somehow it all seems to fit together perfectly.The title track,song 11-Bewilderbeast is wonderful in that it brings all these sounds together on one amazing track.Track 12 'Magic In The Air' is a haunting,melancholic ballad,with piano and guitar the backdrop for Gough's excellent vocals.Track 14 has a definite country feel to it.Track 16-'Disillusion' has a real seventies feel to it-with a sound that isn't to far removed (instrumentally) from The Doobie Brother's. 18 tracks may seem quite alot for any c.d.-especially a debut,but there are no obvious weak songs at all.I have to say it's an incredibly ambitious debut but it is one that shows the work of a very talented musician and song-writer.Finally this c.d. deserves to do really well and I would certainly reccomend it to lovers of good quality music.

The Hour of Bewilderbeast Music

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