Troubled by the critical reaction to his 2006 album, Born in the U.K., Badly Drawn Boy mastermind Damon Gough “became phobic about going back into the studio,” he told Ireland’s the Tribune earlier this month. “I found it increasingly hard to put that stuff in the world and know it will be judged… A lot of my lyrics are personal. It’s hard to deal with that.” Three years later, however, screenwriters Caroline Aherne and Jeff Pope lured Gough back into the studio to record a soundtrack to TV drama The Fattest Man in Britain, which then catalyzed sessions for his forthcoming album, It’s What I’m Thinking, Pt 1.
Aside from the tracklist, a demo (below), and release date (October 4 in the U.K.), few details are known about the album at this time as it has yet to be officially announced. “This one is a bit more together,” Gough revealed of the 10-track effort, “a bit more concise and I’ve never had such a universally positive reaction from those who have heard it. As soon as I finish any project I hate it.”
Check out the tracklist and demo version of “In Safe Hands” below:
It’s What I’m Thinking, Pt 1 – Photographing Snowflakes
01 In Safe Hands
02 The Order Of Things
03 Too Many Miracles
04 What Tomorrow Brings
05 I Saw You Walk Away
06 It’s What I’m Thinking
07 You Lied
08 A Pure Accident
09 This Electric
10 This Beautiful Ideas