Have You Fed the Fish?

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's hard to remember, listening to IHave You Fed the Fish/I, that Badly Drawn Boy was once derided as lo-fi. On Damon Gough's third album, everything is writ large, his wobbly and whimsical songs transformed into bombastic epics. Finally, his much-vaunted Springsteen obsession starts making sense. For this is Gough's LA record, an extravagant conceit that really shouldn't work but, more often than not, does. Essentially, it's big music about simple things, love letters from California back home to his wife in Manchester. So when he tackles the sweet mundanities of domestic life on the title track, he plasters sentiments usually found on post-it notes across 40-foot billboards. The results are oddly moving, especially on "You Were Right", where dreams of a love triangle with Madonna and the Queen and memories of various celebrity deaths become a meditation on not taking anything for granted. Frequently, it's absurd, too: especially the crotchety funk of "Using Our Feet" and the Nilsson-ish Vaudeville of "Tickets to What You Need". Beware, though, because the grandiose production makes Gough's customarily fine songs not quite as accessible as usual--a few listens are needed before their charms cut through the flash. --IJohn Mulvey/I

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Customer reviews

review by: ea_solinas date: 2007-04-01 rating:
Fed them?
After his brilliant debut, "Hour of Bewilderbeast," Badly Drawn Boy (real name: Damon Gough) had a lot to live up to in his second (non-soundtrack) album. And he comes close to delivering in "Have You Fed the Fish?", a sparkling folky-pop album that displays his musical depth and complexity. br / br /It opens with an announcer (like on a plane) informing us that outside the window is a cloud that looks just like Badly Drawn Boy. It's a pretentious moment that isn't too annoying -- especially when it dissolves into sparkling, layered pop. Gough relies on piano pop in songs like "40 Days 40 Fights," and the passionate ballad "How." It's his best area; he can really wring feeling from those keys. br / br /But he also dips into the more acoustic sound, with the danceable "Born Again" and the low-key "I Was Wrong." And "Tickets To What You Need" is more acoustic than any other song -- stripped down, with Gough's vocals in the forefront, he sounds like he's standing on a table and joyously singing to the crowds. After a few more chillingly panoramic pop melodies and piano-led laments, he bows out in the soaring fuzz-guitar "Bedside Story." br / br /It's all too easy to alienate someone you love, perhaps forever. Gough seems to be speaking through his songs to someone else, saying "I Was Wrong," "You Were Right" (two songs from the middle of this album). He retains the experimental edge, giving extra layers and sonic flourishes to what could have been an ordinary indie-folk-pop album. br / br /If there's any flaw in "Have You Fed The Fish?", it's that it seems sometimes that Gough is trying a little too hard. Relax, mate. His acoustic guitar and exquisite piano playing are the middle of the album's sound, but he backs it up with horns, strings, sometimes thunderous percussion, and cymbals. Not to mention the smooth synthy sweeps in songs like "Centre Peace." br / br /Gough's mellow voice is a bit like an instrument in itself -- he seems kind of timid about being in the forefront musically. He only breaks out in "Tickets To What You Need," sounding playful and charming. There are some lyrical stumbles ("And woman, I'll make you a girl"?), but most of the time he manages to wrap strangely sensitive words around the songs. "And you/were right to bide your time and not buy into my misery/Well the good things are never free..." br / br /Gough doesn't reach the heights of his debut album, but taken alone "Have You Fed The Fish" is a beautiful little pop classic overshadowed by the bigger classic, "Bewilderbeast."

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review by: The Sophisticate date: 2006-10-21 rating:
Good Fun!
This is so enjoyable, the tunes are great and easy to get into, I especially like, "All Possibilities" which evokes memories of "About a Boy", which, of course he wrote the music for and is one of my absolute favourite films. I also love how Damon Gough sounds similar to John Lennon, a musical legend!

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review by: -LARKIN- date: 2006-03-20 rating:
Great stuff
The best BDB album. All tracks are excellent but the standout tracks are...pBorn AgainbrYou Were RightbrHowbrThe Further I SlidebrWhat Is It Now?pBUY THIS ALBUM 'nuff said

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review by: mancmike date: 2006-02-05 rating:
A Classic British Indie/Rock/Alt Album
I hate to give 5 stars to albums because 5 stars should be given to great albums like 'Dark Side Of The Moon'. I'm not going to tell you this is 'Dark Side Of The Moon' but in all honesty I couldn't in my heart of hearts give this 4 stars.pDamon Gough and his alter-ego BDB is part of an essential trinity of British indie/rock/alternative music. Yes, they all hale from Manchester and I'm biased but who would doubt the quality of BDB, Doves and Elbow.pOn this showing Mr Gough with the help of Beck's producer Tim Rothrock (Yes the same Beck and Rothrock that concieved the brilliant Odelay)has managed to tame the wild imagination and progressive ideas of first album 'The Hour of The Bewilderbeast' to give us a truly great album. This is an album that in my mind will always go down as an unsung classic, much like Doves' 'Some Cities' or Elbow's 'Cast Of Thousands'. Though many may never own this album I'm willing to bet if they buy any of these three albums in retrospect they may already own albums that are heavily influenced by these three masterpieces.pMany artists have made the LA album, few have managed the heights of 'Hotel California'. BDB never tried to match some of these albums he just wrote an album with massive strings, and wonderfully melodic tunes with great unprentetious lyrics gently placed on top.pSingles 'All Possiblities' and 'You Were Right' are in a set of songs that starts with the former and ends in possibly one of the finest songs I've heard since 'Bittersweet Symphony', namely 'How?'. But aside from the magnitude and ambition of this album in it's mid-section, those who found the first album unfulfilling due to Gough's raw talent, in songs like 'Born Again', '40 Days, 40 Fights' and 'What Is It Now?' you might find BDB is a more pallatable proposition.pI haven't raved as much as I wanted about this album but for it's current price this is like buying a Turner from a Boot Sale


review by: shoddysi date: 2005-08-15 rating:
Stunning stuff
This really is an exceptionally good album. Since I put it on a couple of weeks ago, I've become somewhat addicted to it (you know how it goes!) Although I should say - addicted to certain songs on it. There is a unity, a theme that runs through the album, that relies on Gough's wit to carry it off. I have found it unusual in that there is an elegance and style in his lyrics that is lacking in a lot of music nowadays. pSo... good lyrics - and for me- great tunes. Lovely melodies that, like the lyrics, sometimes repeat throughout the album.pThe highlight has to be the witty, all enveloping "You were right" I defy anyone to listen to that track a few times and not be chuckling about madonna etc and hearing the tune in one's head.pI'm not one of these reviews who goes through each track one by one, nor do i list al the influences i can hear in a track (the more obscure, the more pretentious right?) I am simply a music fan, who has stumbled across a very good album that has really changed my direction in music, and has become a "sound track for my life" at this current moment in time. And I would love other people to enjoy this album as much as I do. pHope you buy it, hope it's special for you.

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