A decade after his last studio album, Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, is back with a pleasant, pop-led effort.
The title track kicks things off with a funky horn-led and percussion-heavy intro as the singer-songwriter embraces his livelier side, a theme that persists throughout the 14 tracks.
While he ruminates on the difficult moments of the last decade (including his split from the mother of his two children), the overriding mood is a pleasingly optimistic one. But throughout the album his quotable lyrics only narrowly avoid veering into cheesiness.
It’s breezy and easy to listen to but in this time of heightened reality, as everything feels intensified, you can’t help feeling the whole thing falls slightly short.
