Badly Drawn Boy - One Plus One is One

The poorly illustrated Damon Gaugh has proven himself a masterful arranger on each of his past three records, deftly weaving vignettes, tangents, instrumental interludes and miniature movements into the space of three-to-five-minute pop songs. His fourth release—a much sparer, acoustic creation—is no less carefully arranged. Nearly all of the 16 songs on One Plus One Is One feature ADD-accomodating instrumental and dynamic shifts. Children’s choirs, café chatter, hand claps, ticking clocks and ambient noise liven the mix and dispel the feeling of gimmickry. The instrumentation is often so subtle as the muted banjo running through “Logic of a Friend” or the soft accordion buried in the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot-ish outro of the album’s closer, “Holy Grail.” Less subtle is the shrill, ubiquitous flute contribution on several tracks, possibly inspired by the over-the-top prog rock leanings of “Summertime in Wintertime.” Still, for a collection of heartfelt, affirming and coolly optimistic songs, the intricate production is usually careful enough to propel the songs along, rather than bog them down in a mire of overzealous meddling.