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Damon Gough, the man behind Badly Drawn Boy, once again defied the laws of folk-pop ingenuity (and basic math) with the release of One Plus One Is One in 2004. His uncanny ability to turn stories into musical sagas leaves listeners believing anything and everything that flows from his charmingly gruff vocals.
Piano produced mini-operas, staggering flute solos and the inclusion of a children's choir help this album stand out from the rest of the UK's quirky folk-pop.
After winning the Mercury Prize (an award given to the best album in England or Ireland) for his debut album, The Hour of Bewilderbeast, and receiving a huge number of pats on the back for scoring the movie About A Boy, Gough took a mini-time out to reevaluate his newfound stardom. The result? A darker (though still optimistic) depiction of his life up until that point, and a sense of turning full circle, as the opening track includes the line "back to who I was before."
And while it may not have reached the commercial success of BDB's debut, this album portrays a deeper, more intimate side of its solo performer -- showcasing emotions experienced after the loss of both Gough's grandfather and a good friend (encompassed in Take The Glory through lyrics like "to live in the hearts of those that you loved is not to die.") But while much of the inspiration is inherently bleak, Gough still maintains an upbeat outlook.
You'll catch your hands joining in the clapping during Four Leaf Clover , one of the album's more lively tracks, in addition to Another Devil Dies .
And throughout, "one plus one is one" is a point Gough consistently tries to push, as it also serves as one of the lines in the wry and introspective song Year Of The Rat .
The closer, Holy Grail incorporates everything that makes this fourth album a personal (and professional) success, with its modest delivery of heartfelt words in an instrumental storm of epic proportion.
Additional Tracks:
One Plus One Is One
Life Turned Upside Down
Buy One Plus One Is One for $6.40
