- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Q MagazineA hugely moving affirmation of life. [Nov 2006, p.136]
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Wistful, vulnerable, not averse to facing the dark side, "Born in the UK" is welcome because it restores some focus and direction to the one thing Gough has never lacked: heart.
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This may not measure up to The Hour Of Bewilderbeast, but it does boast a batch of sweet and deceptively unfussy, scruffily heartfelt tunes dealing with love, loss and the messiness of life that help redeem his unarguable songwriting talent.
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Under The RadarBorn in the U.K. is a disarming, wistful work that observes Gough’s idealism with piano-driven balladry. [#15]
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Paste MagazineThis is Gough's most succinct album to date--fluid, eloquent and timeless. [Nov 2006, p.79]
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New Musical Express (NME)Cleaned up but never pared-down, it's his most wholesome collection since 'The Hour Of Bewilderbeast'. [21 Oct 2006, p.35]
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Like his hero, Bruce Springsteen, he's willing to lay his feelings bare and, in a heartfelt, plainspoken sort of way, invite lovers to ride beside him on life's bumpy path.
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Yes, the overall sound is more uniform. Uniformity, however, is not necessarily a bad thing.
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MojoThis is a collection of melodic, quality pop songs that lean to the grown-up side of things. [Nov 2006, p.100]
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It’s a shame he doesn’t indulge more of his rock impulses, because his ornate mid-tempo predilections tend to water down his natural charisma.
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UrbAn odd album... this might well have been called Badly Drawn Boy: The Musical. [Oct 2006, p.117]
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Gough has tried several new directions here. The results are mixed.
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While this makes for pleasant enough listening, we know that Damon Gough can do a lot better than pleasant.
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Closer to the big production of Have You Fed the Fish? than 2004's more acoustic-led One Plus One is One, it's also the most obvious manifestation of his longstanding Springsteen obsession.
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He's spitting distance from a brilliant concept album about love and suburbia, but he keeps pulling back.
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Too often, his words and melodies end up drowning in their busy surroundings.
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BlenderMidway through, this becomes the record it should have been all along: a gentle, autumnal meditation on the problems of becoming a badly drawn grown-up. [Nov 2006, p.136]
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UncutOddly life-affirming. [Nov 2006, p.99]
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Born in the U.K. has some lovely idiosyncratic moments... but not much in the way of new ideas.
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Alternative PressThe songs tend to meander along without a sense of overall purpose. [Dec 2006, p.188]
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Entertainment WeeklyFor every catchy valentine, there are three groan-inducing Big Statements. [20 Oct 2006, p.83]
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"Born" loses its focus amid unabashed nods to Burt Bacharach and songs that are just not done yet, despite smart tempo changes and pretty melodies.
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There’s still a kernel of originality and true insight in Badly Drawn Boy, but Damon Gough’s going to have to work hard to get back to the spontaneity and true feeling of his past work.
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A cursory listen is stultifyingly dull and alarmingly same-y, a pale follow-up to 2004's One Plus One Is One. A more careful ear reveals the sort of complexity we've come to expect from our Boy over the years.
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SpinGough pens poignant pop-rock tunes... but he overdresses them, adding bells and whistles where they're not needed. [Nov 2006, p.96]
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Most of this over-egged sissy-boy schlock would make James Blunt wince.
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Born is his blandest, most non-descript offering yet. Even the so-so Have You Fed the Fish? seems like a masterpiece in comparison to the downtrodden piano banalities that slosh all over this latest nadir.
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There’s no such dirty, beautiful reality on his new album, just grand empty gestures backed by production polish and symphonic schmaltz.
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It's sexless twaddle pure and simple, delivered by an over-contented and conceited artist with nothing left to offer the world than refried lyrics and quasi-profound meaningless phrases.
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MagnetHow in god's name did Damon Gough fall so far? [#74, p.90]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 14 out of 23
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Mixed: 4 out of 23
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Negative: 5 out of 23
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May 29, 2020
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May 5, 2020Quite a dull album, one of the most disappointing albums after the such high quality of his predecessors
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PaulW.Dec 5, 2009WHATT?!! How could everyone rip this album some much? There are so many damn good songs on it!! I think there is some conspiracy to take down Gough.