Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One plus one equals..., April 19, 2005
Lovably eccentric musician Damon Gough (also known as Badly Drawn Boy) is best known for the ingenious debut "Hour of Bewilderbeast," and for the quirky, appealing soundtrack of the Hugh Grant film "About A Boy." Now he returns with a new album, twisting his fatigue into a pensive, heartbreakingly earnest album, "One Plus One Is One."
He starts off steady with his epic piano melodies in the title track, paired with heartfelt pleas of "Please give me some peace," followed by the folky splendor of "Easy Love" and "This is That New Song." He sticks to a darker sound in the steady piano of "Another Devil Dies" and "Logic of a Friend," or the vaguely eerie "Life Turned Upside-Down."
But rock and depth aside, there's a vaguely whimsical side to Damon Gough in this album, as evidenced by the weird choruses of "Year of the Rat" and "Holy Grail." If that children's choir doesn't put you off, nothing will. "Four-Leaf Clover" has a sort of fun, frolic-in-the-sunshine sound, but its upbeat quality is kind of forced.
Ah, Badly Drawn Boy. Is there anyone who doesn't love this guy? His earnest brand of folk-pop has a strangely soothing quality, and his brilliant musicianship and songs don't hurt either. He stretches in a few of the wrong directions in "One Plus One Is One," but those flaws don't detract much from the enjoyability of this album.
The lo-fi texture of "Bewilderbeast" is long gone, and the result is very polished, but not in a slick way. Gough's mellow vocals blend with his gentle percussion, folky guitar riffs, an occasional flute melody, and some subtle string arrangements. And of course -- the piano! Gough resculpts the piano into heavy, steady arrangements, or sparkling little melodies.
But Badly Drawn Boy himself is the best instrument. His mellow voice gives a sort of thoughtful air to even the lightest of songs. And the songs vary a lot: there's the vaguely angry "Another Devil Dies," where Gough announces "The hatred will tear us apart/Another devil will take out your heart." But he pairs it to the title track, with its fatigued pleas for solitude, or the quiet pondering of how "things didn't turn out/Quite the way that you dreamt about/But it still feels right."
"One Plus One Is One" is not quite Badly Drawn Boy's best, but taken alone it's still a heartfelt, gentle album. He just needs to tone down the choir and the sunniness, and everything ought to be fine.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
a take 'er easy rock record, September 10, 2005
Sounds like Damon had a bunch of songs lying around and bashed 'em out in a couple days in his garage. This record has a really loose, almost sloppy feel, but it usually works. The kids choir is super cool. I like this record, but I hope the next one has a better work ethic behind it.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Back to Bewilderbeast, August 22, 2004
One Plus One Is One is a return to the emotional modern folk sound BDB cultivated on the magnificient Hour of Bewilderbeast album. His previous two releases were a bit of a detour: they were interesting but didn't have the same emotional impact. 1+1=1 sounds like Damon Gough has gotten back onto the path of Bewilderbeast, but matured along the way and progressed from there into new territory. The album has nothing but great songs on it. The lyrics in "This is That New Song" about a failed relationship are wonderful. "Summertime in Wintertime" sounds like Damon is channeling Jethro Tull with some wild rock'n'roll flute. Another Devil Dies, Four Leaf Clover, and Holy Grail stand out as memorable favorites, but really it's hard to pick favorites because all the songs are so good.
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by Badly Drawn Boy 
