Badly Drawn Boy – It’s What I’m Thinking Part 1: Photographing Snowflakes

It would be unjust to say that Damon Gough has fallen foul of the Mercury Music Prize curse since his inspired debut album scooped said accolade a decade ago. The man in the tea-cosy has had varying degrees of artistic and commercial success since his defining work, largely with close follow-ups About A Boy and Have You Fed The Fish. But it’s safe to say that his latter day output has seen his stock decline, with several samey albums and a lacklustre TV soundtrack doing little to resurrect the BDB brand.

The rub here is that It's What I'm Thinking plays fluidly as a whole, though the dizzy highs are few. The album’s centre-pieces – the wistful perky jaunt of I Saw You Walk Away, weaving into the downbeat country glory of the title track – are more immediately engaging.  With a fresh cohesiveness and gorgeous production throughout, this is Gough’s finest in a few, though a little on the sombre side. [Alan Souter]