[3/5] It's an all-too-common story in the music industry: A talented but troubled artist writes, records and produces a CD's worth of material and then abruptly scraps it and starts over-and Badly Drawn Boy, a.k.a. Damon Gough, fell victim to the same scenario, before refocusing and creating Born In The UK. However, the fifth full-length from the British indie-pop sensation leaves one to wonder what the old tracks sounded like if this is the final product. While Gough's soothing vocals lay nicely over an eclectic collection of instruments (provided in large part by Lemon Jelly's Nick Franglen), the songs tend to meander along without a sense of overall purpose-possibly a disappointment for fans of his more comprehensive and aurally interesting albums The Hour Of Bewilderbeast and Have You Fed The Fish?. Not all is lost, of course: Tracks like "Nothing's Gonna Change Your Mind" and "One Last Dance" are fun reminders that Gough's whimsical pop chops are still in working order-they may just be a bit rusty. (ASTRALWERKS) Rachel Lux
 Official Website: http://www.astralwerks.com
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