User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12

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  1. MonkeyMalone
    Apr 23, 2002
    8
    Rolling Stone can bite my butt!!!
  2. JN
    Jul 25, 2002
    10
    feelgood album of the summer and probably the year!
  3. DaveN.
    Sep 13, 2002
    10
    It does not get much better than this.....
  4. DaveL
    Aug 22, 2002
    8
    Very good album....solid songwriting, great singing. "Silent Sigh" is one of the best songs of the year.
  5. JaredSS
    May 24, 2004
    9
    Absolutely brilliant...what we've come to expect from Badly Drawn Boy. I like seeing somebody who has the balls to experiment while he's supposed to be making a radio-friendly soundtrack for the masses...and succeeding on both levels. Can't wait for what else he has to offer. Bring it on!
  6. matta
    Jul 19, 2005
    9
    A pair of badly sculpted breast implants? What the F? The folks over at Pitchfork need to pull their heads out of their asses. A great follow-up to Bewilderbeast and just a flat-out great album. His "proper" follow-up later this same year proved that Badly Drawn Boy is a genius, and that Pitchfork knows nothing.
  7. Oct 23, 2016
    8
    The passage of time has been kind to this album. For me, I think its sounds better today, 14 years after its release than it did the day it came out. "About A Boy" is as good a soundtrack album as you'll probably hear and a very strong follow up to Hour of Bewilderbeast. While it doesn't have the same breadth or depth as Bewilderbeast, you need to remember that it is a soundtrack so is aThe passage of time has been kind to this album. For me, I think its sounds better today, 14 years after its release than it did the day it came out. "About A Boy" is as good a soundtrack album as you'll probably hear and a very strong follow up to Hour of Bewilderbeast. While it doesn't have the same breadth or depth as Bewilderbeast, you need to remember that it is a soundtrack so is a completely different album and serves a completely different purpose. "About A Boy" has lots of lovely short tracks in between proper songs and the beauty of these tracks can sometimes be lost in their brevity. The centre piece of the album "I love NYE" flowing seemlessly into "Silent Sigh" are worth buying this record for alone. Closing track "Donna & Blitzen" is a classic alternative Christmas anthem and possibly my favourite Christmas song. Great album, arguably more concise and focussed than anything else Badly Drawn Boy has done. Excellent listen. Expand
  8. Jul 20, 2023
    10
    One of the most criminally overlooked recordings in music history. Following his magnificent debut ‘The Hour of Bewilderbeast’, Badly Drawn Boy teamed up with former Elliott Smith producer Tom Rothrock to create the greatest soundtrack ever. The instrumentation is so heart wrenchingly beautiful, it’s tearjerking from the short string backed piano tickle introduction ‘Exit Stage Right’ toOne of the most criminally overlooked recordings in music history. Following his magnificent debut ‘The Hour of Bewilderbeast’, Badly Drawn Boy teamed up with former Elliott Smith producer Tom Rothrock to create the greatest soundtrack ever. The instrumentation is so heart wrenchingly beautiful, it’s tearjerking from the short string backed piano tickle introduction ‘Exit Stage Right’ to the single greatest Christmas song that wasn’t produced by Phil Spector ‘Donna and Blitzen’. BDB taps into the emotional tone of the film in such an evocative way but the songs stand alone. Pitchfork you should redact your review. Expand

Awards & Rankings

Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 19
  2. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Q Magazine
    80
    A vibe of maverick playfulness married to fabulous tunes. [Apr 2002, p.106]
  2. Mojo
    70
    The seemingly effortless confidence displayed throughout is startling. [Apr 2002, p.108]
  3. Every card Gough plays is painfully transparent from the first time you play the disc. It's elementary stuff. It sounds manufactured, refined, cosmetic and sterile; in a word, silicone, like a pair of Badly Sculpted Breast Implants.