Good record though it was, BADLY DRAWN BOY'S second album proper, "Have You Fed The Fish?" was a little fussy in terms of detail and - in places - found his previously organic songwriting at loggerheads with LA studio technology.
No such problems this time around, though, as "One Plus One Is One" finds Damon Gough returning home in more ways than one: recording at Stockport's Moulin Rouge Studios (a mere 15 minute cab ride from our hero's front door) and laying down a consistent set of fourteen songs with themes of love and humanity clearly much closer to his heart.
And from the off it's apparent that swapping the smog-filled LA air for the whiff of Boddington's Brewery has been a breath of fresh air for Damon's muse, as the title track leads off as he means to go on. The first line finds him singing "back to being who I was before", and the initial vibe is warm, acoustic and attractive before suddenly a lovely, orchestrated flourish kicks in and then we're assaulted by a cracking trumpet break. Wow. And it all sounds naturally RIGHT.
From then on, he scarcely puts a foot wrong. The approach is resolutely organic and computer-shunning and it's simpler, spacious and mostly very affecting. Indeed, on tunes like the easy-going "Easy Love" - where flute and tiny xylophones accompany Damon's folksy strumming - and the intimate, regretful "This Is That New Song", Damon inadvertently updates Nick Drake's pastoral template and keeps you quietly captivated.
Elsewhere, terms like 'Beatlesque' seem appropriate, as a number of the tunes are built around Damon's accomplished, Lennon-style piano pounding, such as "Another Devil Dies", "The Year Of The Rat" and "Logic Of A Friend". Crucially, though, Gough fashions all manner of personal twists from these premises. "Another Devil Dies", for instance, also harbours a percussive whirlwind and trumpet blasts Calexico would applaud, while "Logic Of A Friend" furtively hoards swoony, Beach Boys-style hamonies, a latterly funky snatch and Damon plucking a mean, Neil Young-style banjo.
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The one thing that might disappoint a tad is that precious little of "One Plus One Is One" rocks. "Summertime In Wintertime" is the only really aggressive track, kicking off with Who-style bluster, but when you've got such quality songwriting, dramatic bursts like "Take The Glory"s exploration of life's temporary nature and even instrumentals as good as "The Blossoms" ( a semi-Elizabethan tribute to your local boozer, anyone?) then you're in no danger of zoning out.
Typically with Damon, there are a few blemishes. The kids' choir on both "The Year Of The Rat" and the overblown closing attempt at a "Hey Jude" with "Holy Grail" are copybook blotters, while there is minimal deadwood such as the ponderous, piano-based second instrumental "Stockport." However, these don't detract fatally from the record on the whole and as an entity "One Plus One Is One" is an impressive, intimate portrait of someone who's got his priorities right. More power to the man lurking beneath the knitted hat.
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