Badly Drawn Boy - One Plus One Is One

With One Plus One Is One, lovable, romantic, woolly-hat-clad eccentric Damon Gough has produced his best album since his glorious debut (The Hour of Bewilderbeast). With Badly Drawn Boy shunning LA in favor of a Manchester studio and with Andy Votel back at the production helm One Plus One is a wry, self-mocking, and exquisitely personal album that finds Gough re-evaluating the sudden fame that found him working with Joan Collins, recording soundtracks, and residing in California.

The opening title track sets the mood with Gough exhaustedly intoning "Back to being who I was before/ Open up your door/ Give me some peace/ Hold me now/ Everybody is waiting outside." Other highlights include the playfully clumsy rhythms of "Four Leaf Clover" and the epic and ingenious "Holy Grail," the latter coming complete with weaving flute, children's choir, pounding piano, and lyrics able to break a heart at half a listen. Charming, disheveled, and unpretentious throughout, One Plus One Is One is a superb comeback that will warm the hearts and delight the ears of his loyal fan base. --Christopher Barrett Amazon.com

Solidly descending

Never one to disappoint fans of the acoustic-based singer/songwriter tradition, Gough has expanded his horizons and produces his ambitious folk pop now with wider instrumentation. The result is still a solid disc, containing at least a few exemplary tracks, but the urgency feels less potent then it did- a rather subtle apathy seems to have pervaded the songwriting, sometimes compensating with over-production and heavy arrangements. August 1, 2008

Sorely Disappointed

I do not like this album. The tunes on this are unimpressive, and the lyrics are monotonous and similarly unimpressive. I ordered it on reading a few reviews and let me make clear it is nothing like Bewilderbeast (which is excellent), if you are a BDB fan. I even think Have you Fed the Fish Today is a better album overall. August 14, 2006

The Best BDB Album!

If I could I would give this album 4 stars and a half. It nearly apporaches perfection. If the hour of the bewilderbeast is an amazing album. This for me, was done with more effort. This album remindsme of being in a nice and comfortable bar listening to a guy playing his acoustic guitar and singing these songs. Easy to digest, easy to like. My fave tracks are: One plus one is one, This is that new song, Another devil dies, Year of the rat (probably my BDB fave), and Logic of a friend. This album won't dissapoint you. Give it a try. November 4, 2005

Return to Bewilderbeast

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. September 6, 2005

Like a fine wine...

Being a huge BDB fan, I really wanted to love this CD. He's extremely talented and refreshing compared to a lot of the junk out there.

Having listened to it many times through, I have decided this CD gets better with time. My first listen to One Plus One is One left me feeling dissapointed. I didn't like the direction he went in, and I felt like he was trying too hard after getting so much criticism with Have You Fed the Fish.

I gave the CD a rest, but then one day I felt like giving it another try. To my suprise, some of the songs I originally didn't care for, I started to like. As I kept listening to it, I really began to enjoy it.

Something tells me this CD will be on the extremes--Either you love it or hate it--Don't be too quick to dismiss this CD, though...give it some time. You just may end up really liking it! July 19, 2005

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