BADLY DRAWN BOY

Easily the finest Badly Drawn Boy album since 2002's ABOUT A BOY soundtrack, BORN IN THE U.K. finds the British alternative-pop artist (a.k.a. Damon Gough) playing to his strengths after a period of creative stagnation. While the title track (a nod to Gough's musical hero, Bruce Springsteen) is energetic and assured as it careens over a Beatlesque drum line, "Nothing's Going to Change Your Mind" is a lush, plaintive ballad that reinforces earlier comparisons to Harry Nilsson.

Although BORN IN THE U.K. doesn't feature the overt eclecticism of Gough's lauded debut, THE HOUR OF BEWILDERBEAST, it benefits not only from Gough's renewed focus on crafting compelling pop songs, but from a new creative foil, Lemon Jelly's Nick Franglen, who helped to flesh out the album's arrangements. Although the record will readily appeal to Badly Drawn Boy diehards, it should also win over some lapsed fans, and garner some new admirers as well.

Estimated despatch 5-10 days after ordering.