Banana Skin Shoes

Its time to break this plaster cast and leave your past behind, Badly Drawn Boys Damon Gough sings on Banana Skin Shoes. Thats no easy feat, especially for an artist who hasnt made an album in a decade. Yet, on his eighth album, Gough manages to move on by trying lots of different, new-to-him sounds and forgiving those who made mistakes in the past -- especially himself. Its been longer than ten years since hes sounded this confident; not coincidentally, he begins Banana Skin Shoes with his boldest statements of purpose. The title track, with its flashy keyboards and funky brass hits, shakes off the hesitancy that shadowed much of his work before his hiatus and lets listeners know right away that this is a new era. He keeps up the momentum on Is This a Dream?, where the busy, choppy production works for the song instead of against it -- an issue that sometimes bogged down his previous albums. From there, Gough hops from style to style on Banana Skin Shoes with the excitement of someone whos fallen in love with music again. The sheer amount of musical territory he covers reflects a decades worth of living, whether its the breezy bossa nova sway of You and Me Against the World, which suggests that flexibility, not sheer strength, is the key to survival, the bubbly soft rock of I Need Someone to Trust, or the driving psych-pop of Colours. As wide-ranging as Banana Skin Shoes is, it never feels like Gough is dabbling. The albums sounds are as carefully considered as the motifs of tears, apples, and snowy spring days that recur in its lyrics, and the flourishes of brass that pop up throughout feel like triumphant fanfares. When Gough does look back, its to give respect to the history -- shifting relationships, parenthood, all the hallmarks of a life in progress -- that made him who he is. He bids a fond farewell to a former partner on I Just Wanna Wish You Happiness, the kind of hopeful breakup song that can only come from years of growth and acceptance; on the Motown-tinged Tony Wilson Said, he reflects on his beloved Manchester. Gough makes time for the heartwarming, bittersweet pop that fans fell in love with two decades before on songs such as Funny Time of Year and the philosophical Appletree Boulevard. Its a welcome surprise, however, just how light the finest moments on Banana Skin Shoes are. Im Not Sure What It Is is a nimble mix of self-awareness and hope, while Ill Do My Best cleverly marries breezy early-70s AM pop instrumentation with his renewed commitment to future happiness. While Banana Skin Shoes sprawl couldve used some editing, Gough makes it clear that this isnt Hour of Bewilderbeast or About a Boy -- its about a man whos left the pain of the past where it belongs. ~ Heather Phares