The songs here don't form a conventional narrative. Nevertheless, the ornate presentation often gives the proceedings the feel of a Broadway musical, especially on tracks such as "Welcome to the Overground," which contains a chorus rousing enough to make theater-goers demand a refund on their Rent. But Gough still leaves room for intimacy of the sort found on "Without a Kiss," a tune that matches the romanticism of anything in James Blunt's catalogue without leaving a treacly aftertaste.
Americans have been missing out, and it's past time they learned more about a Badly Drawn Boy.
