Badly Drawn Boy - Have You Fed The Fish? (Twisted Nerve)
For five years, BDB (alias Manchester's Damon Gough) has cooked up only the finest melodies and moods to complement his shuffling vocal style. But with Have You Fed The Fish? he’s struggling for fresh ingredients. The album is still head and shoulders above the usual pop tat, but he’s not hit a new level yet. Sparks of magic do exist though. The eclectic chord progressions and haunting guitar hook of the title track and the Lennon-esque honky-tonk piano of Tickets To What You Need show the potential. But, elsewhere, fans of the Boy's debut Hour Of The Bewilderbeast may find themselves disappointed. When he received the Mercury Music Award in 2000, BDB said he thought he’d never made music better than when he was 18. Maybe it’s time to turn back the clock. Ed Swinden 31 October 02