About A Boy OST

Badly Drawn Boy (aka Damon Hogue) is definitely a unique talent. The music on this album — the original soundtrack for the film 'About A Boy' — is a synthesis of a broad range of musical styles with an innate sense of, well, I guess you'd say, classiness.

A combination of evocative instrumental segments (some as short as 30 seconds long) and underplayed reflections on life, it's an album that feels like it's going places, as if the refined grace of the music is telling you that BDB is just beginning to show his potential as a composer and arranger.

His previous album, 'The Hour of the Wildebeest', was much more dirty, less cleanly mixed, more typical of an artist with creativity slapping his inspiration all over the place, hoping that something would stick.

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that this album was specially commisioned; it forces a certain responsibility and discipline on the artist, makes it less indulgent.

There are 16 tracks, seven of which are instrumentals subtle and soothing. The other nine, meanwhile, are new Badly Drawn Boy songs, retaining the essence of 'The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast', whilst just lifting the bar enough to confirm that BDB is an artist who is learning and growing.

It may sound a little infomercialesque, but this is an excellent CD to listen to in the car, and when you think about it that's not such a bad thing. The reflective feeling that often overcomes one when cutting through the countryside lends itself to music that attempts to get inside your existential mind.

My favourite tracks would have to be 'Above You, Below me', which demonstrates BDB's superb melodic skills, and 'A Peak You Reach', a really solid, upbeat pop song.

All in all I'd say that this album represents a progressive move from a songwriter I'll be listening to with great interest in the future.