Better known as Badly Drawn Boy, singer/songwriter Damon Gough is no stranger to soundtracks, having worked on Nick Hornby adaptation ‘About A Boy’ back in 2002. So it’s perhaps not too surprising that the beanie-loving Manc. decided to break his three year release drought with ‘Is There Nothing We Could Do?’, an album of songs and incidental music taken from ‘The Fattest Man In Britain’, Caroline Ahern’s made-for-TV movie starring Timothy Spall. While Badly Drawn Boy fans will rightly rejoice, it’s worth bearing in mind that this album is very much a soundtrack first and an album second; expect frequently recurring themes and noodling instrumentals. That said, songs such as the swooning title track, the brass-tinged ‘Welcome Me To Your World’ and ‘Just Look At Us Now?’ are perfectly capable of standing on their own two feet – understated, gentle pieces chock full of empathy and melancholia. Classic Badly Drawn Boy, you might say. The occasional audio clip from the film also helps things along, in the case of ‘Big Brian Arrives’ by injecting a dose of much-needed humour (“You’re going to get on those scales a fat man, and you’re going to get off a legend”). And if you absolutely adored ‘The Hour of Bewilderbeast’, then go ahead, add another star to my rating. You weird person.
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DaveAxbey is a minor character who became a series regular in season two. A London-based journalist and entertainment industry PR guy, he is depicted as a genre-savvy geek obsessed by videogames, anime and indie music.
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