What does it sound like?:
Having been guilty of forgetting about Badly Drawn Boy, I was surprised at the start of the year to notice he was playing a gig round the corner from where I work in Leeds. I was immediately intrigued; I knew he’d had some kind of fairly public meltdown, released a very patchy album in 2010 and had since kept a low-profile. Anyhow, I bought a ticket – and had a very enjoyable evening. He was clearly back ‘feeling it’ and mentioned at the gig that a new album would follow. ‘Banana Skin Shoes’ is, like most records released nowadays, about four tracks too long. Don’t let that put you off, there are some delightful songs on this record. He pays homage to Tony Wilson and Manchester and says sorry to his ex-wife, a lot. The beautiful ‘I Just Wanna Wish You Happiness’ is the stand out track for me, but this album is brimming with many a nice pop tune. He’s always written from the heart, and although he is very much doing that here, the arrangements are so nicely put together, that you find yourself overlooking his self-indulgence. ‘Fly On The Wall’ and » Continue Reading.
