The Hour of Bewilderbeast

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.

Picture a more modern Nick Drake with a sense of humor. The first track called "The Shining" is a prime example of this. The folk feel is present from the beginning. It's very good I might add. The second song picks up the pace a bit. It's a perfect pop song that is sure to make you feel really good inside. Heck, most of the songs on this album will make you feel good inside. Again, they all have a certain charm that just makes you want to listen more.

"Camping Next To Water" to me signifies exactly what the album is about. It has everything. Not to mention, it's one of my favorite songs on the album. "Body Rap" gives us a bit of funky hip-hop folk. It's only 45 seconds and is a great piece of music to break the album in half. Next comes the first single off the album. "Once Around the Block" is probably the most fluid song on the album. It also happens to be one of the catchiest songs here. The video is great. It's about two teenagers who go on a date and end up getting stuck together at the braces when they finally decide to kiss for the first time.

One of my other favorite songs on the album is the song called "Pissing in the Wind." Although it has funny lyrics, it really has the most beautiful music. It has a very hard underlying country feel. It's very reminiscent of early Bob Dylan with the ever-popular harmonica. It's the type of song you would want to put in your car stereo and drive down a dirt road to. Gough pulls it off perfectly. I would love to be able to write a song like this. How great would that be?

Get this album. I'm sure you'll like it. It's just a feel good record. You can't help but feel optimistic with music like this. It's a vehicle for how good life can potentially be. With the exception of a few boring moments, this was probably one of the best releases of 2000. I've had it now for about a year and still enjoy it as much as I did the first time I heard it.