You could probably draw a parallel between Badly Drawn Boy's Fifth album (seventh, including soundtracks) 'It's What I'm Thinking part 1' and his debut 'The Hour Of Bewilderbeast' as both share a similar vibe, all dreamy atmospherics. Where they differ, sadly, is the lack of an 'Everybodys Stalking' or 'Another Pearl' to make it a great album. Opener 'In Safe Hands' gently sets the mood, with a finger-picked acoustic guitar and vocals heavy on the reverb. There are a few shining lights though, 'Too Many Miracles', 'I Saw You Walk Away' and 'A Pure Accident' do lift the pace on an otherwise restrained album. Title track 'It's What I'm Thinking' is a disappointment, dreary and overlong. I would agree that Badly Drawn Boy has failed to deliver consistantly great albums since his debut and that's the case again here. But live with it for a while and it will start to draw you in to reveal a charm all of its own.
5つ星のうち3.0Probably BDB's weakest studio album to date
2017年6月14日に英国でレビュー済み
Amazonで購入
When I pulled this album out of my CD rack, there was a moment of puzzlement, almost confusion. Simply put, I couldn't remember buying or listening to this album and, yet, there it was. It's odd, because I've been a Badly Drawn Boy fan since the days of Bewilderbeast and I've been aware that Damon Gough has been extremely quiet on the music front for a long time, but I simply could not remember the existence of It's What I'm Thinking. I put the album on to play and there was a glimmer of recognition during my first listen of the ten songs, but nothing really stood out to me. The second listening session brought very little more in terms of enjoyment or appreciation; I was starting to realise why I couldn't remember the existence of this 2010 album. The third and final time I played the album, I had to concede defeat. The reason I couldn't recall this album's existence is because it, sadly, isn't very memorable. Compared with Gough's earlier work, the whole platter of songs on offer had very little flavour and, it can easily be said, this is by far his least accomplished album so far.
It's not that there is anything awful or offensive on the album, indeed, if you put this on as background music then it would make a pleasant backdrop to do other things to, but it does commit the crime of being rather dull and ordinary. I would struggle to pick out more than one single highlight (the pretty, wintry What Tomorrow Brings) which, given the many moments of musical joy Badly Drawn Boy has been responsible for throughout his career and his talent for witty, engaging lyrics, is a real disappointment. This was supposed to be the first in a trilogy of albums, yet the fact that albums two and three have yet to appear is quite telling. Disc two of my limited edition copy of this album is a sound collage formed from the album by Andy Votel and, whilst it isn't terrible, I have to say that it is something I will never listen to again and nineteen-and-a-half minutes of my life I will never get back. It doesn't endear the album to me any more, either. No, unfortunately, even as a Badly Drawn Boy fan, I honestly cannot draw any other conclusion that this is Gough's weakest album by a wide margin. If you were interested in discovering Badly Drawn Boy's music, I would advise you to listen to this record last of all.