Badly Drawn Boy / It´ s What I´m Thinking Part One: Photographing Snowflakes

The album excels because, from the very first moment of album opener Safe Hands, Gough demonstrates his skill at creating a track that truly sticks with the listener in a way that is almost unshakable in an equally joyous and disconcerting fashion. The wave of ambience built on the most simple of folk guitars, combined with the echoes of Gough's whisper, make for a song of true power despite its easy-listening nature. But Gough understands that, trite as it is, you can say less with more if you've got the listener hooked in a whirlwind of sounds. With overly simplified lines like "Give the boy a crutch/it isn't asking much" (from It's What I'm Thinking) to much of the lyrical content in The Order of Things ("Throw me to the lions/make me a man" stands out especially), Gough has a clear cut ability to maximize the impact of whatever floats across his lips, usually sailing outward on feelings of inadequacy and a kind of distinguished heartache. (No Ripcord)