Badly Drawn Boy is back after eight years with a new album. Well, it is not out yet just, but it will be in May. Nevertheless, the multi-instrumentalist has given us a teaser of what to expect with single ‘Banana Skin Shoes’ which is also the name for the album.

The single is a new direction for the talented musician. As a result, it sounds a million miles away from his previous releases including ‘Something To Talk About’. That is arguably the track which put the singer on the map due to it being the soundtrack of the highly popular Hugh Grant movie ‘About A Boy’.

Manchester

‘Banana Skin Shoes’ for me has a manchester indie themed vibe to it with a 90’s rhythm. I doubt it would sit too out of place on a Happy Mondays or Stone Roses album. But, maybe this is a deliberate direction. After all, it was put together in Stockport, Greater Manchester at Eve Studios with producer Gethin Pearson.

So after eight years, what has changed in his sound? Apart from a slightly different direction of music, you can still hear Damon’s signature experimental character. Vocally, he still sounds incredible, and the songwriting is still at the highest level. However, the new material is not quite as mellow as previous releases. It has a more upbeat and feel-good vibe which I like. Also, it is not just an acoustic sound which dominates the tracks, and there is a whole lot more variance, in my opinion.

Nevertheless, I have still only heard one of the new tracks from Badly Drawn Boy. Therefore I cannot comment on the rest of the album. The other songs may be entirely different for all I know. However, I am sure they are going to be amazing!

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George Millington