Please welcome the new Badly Drawn Boy, except with a handful of Teenage Fanclub chord progressions and some kitsch synths. Track 1, Papercuts, nods along nicely, the acoustic strum rhythm built upon by the aforementioned blips and bloops and some sweet vocals. "I've always been in love with you", he sings. Certainly a peck on the cheek kinda guy rather than a quick fumble in toilets.
Track 2, Sleeping With A Gun Under My Pillow, is more curious. Sounding like new Blur if Damon had gone to Nashville rather than Mali, its got ropey country guitar sliding and what sounds like someone who's swallowed a harmonica. Add this to a plodding beat and more acoustics and it's certainly attention grabbing, but it put my teeth on edge by the 2:30 mark.
The Boy Least Likely To do not make me want to dance, or hum along, or appreciate from a conservative distance. There are some good ideas here but it's poorly executed. Give it time and something interesting and engaging may emerge.
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5Andy (quirk) Thomas's Score