The great thing about the indie music world is that it is actually possible for three 15-year-olds playing in a garage for their grandma to be considered an actual band.
What one must keep in mind is that this same characteristic makes it important to create unique music in order to stand out. It is equally as vital, once famous, to continue to step outside of the box to preserve fans and keep them interested. However, whether it's due to an inflated ego or immense pressure to succeed, the quality of artists' music tends to fluctuate.
Badly Drawn Boy's new release, "Born in the UK," marks a career low point for singer/songwriter Damon Gough.
Best known for penning the soundtrack of "About a Boy" (2002), Gough scored fame virtually overnight. Originating from Bolton, England, his fan base was initially limited to Brits until "About a Boy," after which America began to associate Badly Drawn Boy with the rugged good looks of Hugh Grant.
Inspired by his success, Gough ambitiously established his five-in-five plan, that is, a near-impossible goal of releasing five full length albums in five years. Including "About a Boy" and its predecessor, 2000's "The Hour of Bewilderbeast," Gough made it to four, with "Have You Fed the Fish?" in 2002 and "One Plus One is One" in 2004.
These four albums were released by a small label, XL, but according to his master plan, Gough needed to release his next album (to round out the fifth) with bigwig producer Stephen Street of EMI Records, best known from his work with The Smiths and Kaiser Chiefs. However, as it often goes with fickle artists, Gough was unsatisfied with his work and called the album off. He not only failed to release a new album but botched his ambitious five-year plan to boot.
This failure added extra pressure to create a successful album when the time came. This strain is painfully obvious in "Born in the U.K.," a 13-track compilation. It is especially apparent in the lyrics that "Born in the U.K." was a contrived effort for Gough to compensate for his previous failure. His songs no longer have the airy, effortless quality of those found on "One Plus One is One" or "The Hour of Bewilderbeast." These earlier works had a natural, bouncy charisma, whereas "Born in the U.K." tries far too hard to evoke heavier emotion from the audience.
Previous Badly Drawn Boy work was much like the movie that gave it fame: silly, romantic and warm. Oddly, in this most recent release, most songs are piano-plunking ballads that lyrically could have come from an angsty teen diary. In one of many cheesy downers, "Promises," Gough pleads, "Just promise you will remember/ That promises last forever." Say what you will, but Gough seems to be turning towards the dark, emo side.
Judging from the title, one could infer "Born in the U.K." to be a commendation of his English upbringing; however, hardly any songs are remotely joyful or even patriotic. One track that could be interpreted as an ode to the U.K., "The Way Things Used to Be," has an unusual American country twang that is hardly fitting for a song recounting an emotional history of England. What's more, the song is a lyrical downer as Gough describes an unfortunate past and future of the country he claims to love.
The lowest point of "Born in the U.K." is "Without a Kiss," where Gough scrapes the bottom of the barrel to garner real emotion that listeners could take seriously. The result, contrary to what Gough aimed for, is a sticky sappiness that is simply too much to choke down. However, with lyrics like "You're too old/ And then you're too young/ Did you leave your mark on the world?" he evokes a kind of pity, an acknowledgement that Gough is trying his hardest to get over his 2005 mess. The pressure, we see, got to him.
Thankfully, not every track on "Born in the U.K." follows the same sappy-ballad-with-sparse-piano structure. Gough manages to let his hair down (and he does have very long hair) on "Nothing's Gonna Change Your Mind," by adding heavier accompaniment and a more tangible melody while stretching his voice to pseudo-falsetto heights. The beloved children's choir used on "One Plus One is One" makes a charming reappearance in "Welcome to the Overground," a lighthearted, pop-focused song that smacks of Gough's earlier works.
This handful of songs holds the album together, amidst tracks that rely too heavily on gag-me, sappy lyrics and repetitive piano chords. Gough is trying excessively hard to create a masterpiece, and a deeply emotional one at that. He should stick with the style on "About a Boy," because if we can relate his delightful melodies with Hugh Grant and a little kid skipping around London, then he's done something right.
