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Badly Drawn Boy
I love it when an artist is capable of having some fun with his career. Badly Drawn Boy (aka Damon Gough) can be as serious as a heart attack, but he always sounds relaxed with himself, regardless of the topic. The net effect is that everything he records sounds so much more imaginative and creative, without drowning in the pathos that so many singer/songwriters utilize to express their innermost feelings. “Have You Fed the Fish?” is about as mundane a title as I can imagine, and yet the title track is bursting with energy, creativity, humor, and yes, perhaps just a touch of pathos. Throughout, the instrumentation is as imaginatively creative as the songs themselves. While a xylophone offers a distinct touch to one track, a full orchestra accompanies others. In either case, the instrumentation never bogs things down. In fact, some of the string-laden arrangements actually swing. Other songs betray a funky edge, too, (“Forty Days, Forty Fights”), but stylization is only a means to an end here, providing a basis and a bright atmosphere for the songwriting.
Overall, the mood is fun without becoming flighty, and reflective without becoming morose. It offers insight and entertainment simultaneously, in a manner that draws the listener in. A high point occurs when the short acoustic track “I Was Wrong” introduces “You Were Right”. As the upbeat, reflective mood establishes itself, Gough shares a dream wherein he “was married to the queen, and Madonna lived next door. I think she took a shine to me…” Nevertheless, he remains true to himself, but then reflects on how he reacted when he heard the news about the deaths of a few celebrity heroes (John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley), realizing that he ultimately did nothing but sit in and watch the news on television. The track “How?” best sums up his perspective when he sings, “How can I give you the answers you need when all I possess is a melody?” After all, feeding the fish might sound brain-numbingly mundane, but not from the perspective of the fish.
Grade: 
 
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