The Hour Of Bewilderbeast

This album is no longer in the latest editions of the book, and I can't say I disagree.

I just don’t get it? I don’t know what people hear in this album that I don’t? What is on here that makes anyone swoon on about it like it was their first born? The music is not groundbreaking or genre defining. It’s neither a breakout sound or mesmerising enough to keep me on high alert for the start of each track. It’s the same indie sound that blends each song into the other due to the nondescript style of the music. I tried listening to the most played track, according to Deezer, over and over hoping to catch a peek of what the cool kids were revelling in...I didn’t even get a glimpse. 1 Star!

Here’s a good rule of thumb for a lot of these early 00’s albums (particularly the British indie ones) that the list curator loves to include: If you haven’t heard anyone talk about the band in 20 years, it’s probably safe to say that you don’t need to hear it before you die. This record plods along, doesn’t really offer anything revolutionary or particularly upbeat. It’s a bit depressing, isn’t it? Like if Elliot Smith stole Radiohead’s lunch money. As a counterpoint to this record, I’ll offer up Grandaddy’s “The Sophtware Slump”, also from 2000. It’s a well engineered, experimental indie rock headphone album and at least Jason Lytle sounds like he [gasp] had a little fun making the record.

What an odd and lovely little album. There's so much great music, melody, instrumentation, and vocalization on this one. Lyrically intricate and poetic. Great mix of "chill" and energetic energy, dynamic in a way that's interesting and not jarring to listen to. Loved it.

Well. That's just ... really boring, innit? Shame.

I’m familiar with a little Badly Drawn Boy, but this is the first time hearing this album. Mostly gentle and pleasant - but never boring - with some darker undercurrents that occasionally bubble up to the surface. The songs have a way of being unique and quirky without crossing over into annoying. There’s a lot of cleverness in the arrangements and the lyrics. Some Highlights: “The Shining” features some great horns in the opening the turns to a really nice guitar song that builds the orchestra back by the finale. Really nice. “Camping Next To Water” seems to be about someone stranded in the woods alone living on fish. Really great song! “Once Around The Block” has a pleasant, quirky vibe - a fun listen. “Magic in the Air” was very a really nice love song that has just the right amount of sweetness. “Cause A Rockslide” is interesting with cool lyrics (“your sweetness would cause a rockslide”) and a trippy second half I enjoyed. “Pissing In The Wind” takes things in a country direction with fun lyrics and a shambly feel. It is probably my second favorite song on the album after… “Disillusion” is a groovy dance track with a great beat and rhythm section Great song - my favorite on the album. “Say It Again” has some more really clever lyrics. Great song that builds and builds as it goes - “dried up thoughts but my nose is runny.” Just when you think you have THE HOUR OF BEWILDERBEAST pinned down the album throws a curve ball into the music and/or lyrics. The surprises really work and never feel out of place (except maybe “This Song” on headphones). With each listen there’s something new to discover. Somehow Badly Drawn Boy weaves all these unique pieces together into a cohesive, enjoyable album.

This is a hell of an album. I had forgotten just how good. The melodies come fast and furiously and with beauty a subtlety. The listener is required to wade through some studio trickery which almost but not quite distracts from the incredible songwriting. Allmusic.com references Harry Nilsson as his closest influence, frankly I don't here it; First of all Damon's voice is not like Nilsson's and I think of him more as an interpreter of other's material. I hear a lot of Beatles (think Sgt Pepper's) but what I really hear is Todd Rundgren, I think of THOTB as Something/Anything for the year 2000. A brilliant debut that does now and always will sound fresh. 5 🌟

great album, still sounds fresh.

This one is a classic for me.

never heard of the band, but I loved the songs and music.

Someone included Once Around the Block on a mixtape for me a while back but that's all I know of Badly Drawn Boy. I've always liked Once Around the Block because it's in 3 and sometimes you just need a waltz so I'm interested. First track is called The Shining and I'm nervous. Oh, a cello. How lovely. And a French horn? Go on... O! It's about the sun! And it's pretty! I love it. Next song is Everybody's Stalking (good Midnight Cowboy/Nilsson reference) and I'm dancing at the bus stop! (Can't really understand the lyrics but they might be creepy since it's about stalking.) I love this one, too! Also on my love list are Pissing in the Wind, Say it Again, Epitaph, the disco sound of Disillusion, and Stone on the Water (another waltz). The piano at the beginning of Magic in the Air reminded me of Hard Candy Christmas from Best Little Whorehouse... This Song is very strange. I listened to it twice on speakers and would have absolutely believed it was Simon & Garfunkel. But then I was relistening on headphones on my walk home and thought I might be having a stroke. There is some very very strange (and off-putting) stereo effect happening there. I almost fell over. There are a few tracks on this long album that didn't do much for me but overall I really liked this and will listen again.

Very unique, thoroughly enjoyed

Enormous discovery, I love it very much!!!!

Boring. Generic. Shouldn’t be on the list.

Badly Sung Songs

I know about Badly Drawn Boy from the About a Boy soundtrack- which I listened to pretty religiously for a while after I found it in a used CD store :). I hadn't heard this album but I like it too.

Me and my mate used to drink in the same pub him in Chorlton. He’s reyt grumpy when you ask him to song you a song. Indie!

What a record.

Was heading for a generous 3* but then went on for too long... inoffensive but bland

5 OUT OF 5 Blown away by the quality of this record. How had I never heard of this?

An artist that has never come up on my radar, with an album of songs I don’t recognise. This is why I love the 1001 Album challenge (if you want to call it that). It’s allegedly one of the best albums ever created, and I’m going in clueless but optimistic - I like the album art. Songs I already know: none Favourite after listening: Bewilderbeast, Everybody’s Stalking Songs I disliked: This Song - the weird rapid panning between each earphone gave me a headache Overall: 9/10 This album was near perfect, and very much to my taste. It reminds me a lot of Eels and that’s definitely no bad thing. It’s the kind of album where if I was listening to it and somebody spoke to me, I would want to pause the music rather than talk over it. It’s so beautifully composed, and he has such a nice voice. 90’s alt music it always going to go down well with me, and I’m going to be coming back to this album a lot (except that one song). Edit: turns out it was released in 2000, so it’s technically not 90s alt, but definitely feels like it.

Stone on the Water is great, mostly instrumental. Say it Again also good. This Song got annoying with the reverb, but it was short so it was fine. As an indie hipster, this is the kind of album I wish I could say I had found. Truly incredible.

You could throw the world's worst indie rock album at me, and I'd probably still give it like a 3/5. I'm a slut for whiny virgin music. I assume this guy is as well, because this album feels like somebody putting every single popular indie artist in a blender. It works better than I expected. I'd still much rather listen to actual Elliott Smith and Neutral Milk Hotel than the tracks on this album inspired by them, but it's a very pleasant collection of tunes. Some songs are huge. "Cause a Rockslide" especially sounded like the ADHD-ridden brain of somebody who's been trapped in the Shadow Indie Dimension for 7 years. I will now remind everybody that "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" is not on this list.

This album was almost good but nothing really stood out to me. If it was a color, it would be a pleasant beige. Not offensive, but not interesting either.

Just painfully boring - nothing about this is enthusiastic or exciting to listen to. Big snoozefest. 4/10.

This did nothing for me. Some parts were not too bad, but way too many songs were just boring.

Some good songs. Most not. Bit long, was bored by the end.

Great cure for insomnia

I really do get why people are irritated by this list's obsession with minor UK artists of the early 2000's. This, however, is worth the indulgence. Hyped to death at the time, and deliberately ignored until introduced to me by a friend with a pretty varied, if nonchalant, music taste (some hip-hop, some techno, The Doors, The Stone Roses) with the recommendation "has lots of little bits with good sounds". Sure enough it does, and is quite enchanting (as is the "About A Boy" soundtrack if you're unsatiated). Love the instrumental title track in particular; the kind of thing an Englishman does uniquely well, on occasion.

I used to love this album and I've very pleased to hear that it still sounds incredibly fresh 25 years later. Badly Drawn Boy shows how you can make a very chill album without any hint of ever being boring. Every one of the 18 tracks is completely different and a unique story that flows into the next. It's a a quilt created out of old memories. The whole is very comforting but each square has a lot happening. It's just a fantastic album.

Heard of but never heard before now. The British lovechild of Sufjan Stevens and Jeff Tweedy maybe? I had a really strange end to my day yesterday, when within the span of a few minutes I went from washing dishes to urgently driving an injured hawk to a wildlife rehabilitator a couple of towns over. I was trying to think of music that could relax the hawk - Beethoven's piano sonatas maybe? - and because I had been streaming this in the kitchen, it came in again after my phone paired with the car and I decided to let it ride. The hawk arrived alive, so I guess this must be a pretty good album!

Not super familiar with this band, but I dig this album. It definitely reminds me of a lot of other late 90s /early 2000s acts, but its not a bad thing. I don't think I'd like to talk to anyone about this band. I bet the fans are irritating as fuck.

More British pop/rock! This list is loaded with it. It's fine for the most part, but if we're really talking about albums we must hear before we die, I don't think these late 90's, early 2000's British groups are what are meant to hear. There are a ton of better options. Oh well, on we go. This is a group I've never heard of before, and I have to say, I was mildly impressed with their album here. It's not outstanding, drop-dead, MUST listen to, but it's pleasant enough. A lot of weird, force fed commercial-like, "we need to sound trippy!" tracks on it. I don't get it, that was played out in the 90's, dudes. 3/5

Le Badyl Drawn Boy s'en est pas trop mal sorti, et nous a offert un album agréable qui dénote très clairement avec toute la daube ambiante. Je n'ose d'ailleurs pas imaginer l'odeur dans la chambre de Robert.

I thought “The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast” was a pretty solid album… Had never heard of the artist before, and had never come across any of these songs before – so I was a blank slate… I sorta like his style, and I can honestly say that there weren’t any bad tracks on the album – but there weren’t a whole lot really jumping out at me either – which is not ideal for an album with 18 tracks, and over an hour in length… Best tracks in my opinion were – “Everybody’s Stalking – 5-stars out of 7… “Stone On The Water” – 4-stars out of 7… “Another Pearl” – 4-stars out of 7… “Once Around The Block” – 4-stars out of 7… So like I said, solid – fairly original, but nothing earthshattering for sure… Would probably give this a 2.50 if I could, but there is not enough there to reach a 3 when I consider other albums that I’ve rated as a 3 – so a well-earned 2 it is…

2.5

I can get how other people could like this, but I really didn't.

I dont hate it but stuff like this is very hit or miss for me. I actually think that if I was in the right mood it could grow on me. It's an "I'm sorry" 2 for now with potential to be upgraded to a 3 maybe if I ever give this another go.

This fucking sucks and I hate it. I won’t mince words today or waste time trying to find merit where there is none.

Best discovery so far

I haven't listened to this for 10 years. Fuck I feel old. I was obsessed with this album in 2008. This is why I love this website.

Very peaceful album that has an awesome flow.

Hour of Bewliderbeast I listened to this a lot when it came out, but I can’t have heard it in 20-odd years, so I was quite intrigued to revisit it. It's a very pleasant and nostalgic listen, with a gentle strain of self-effacing humorous melancholy running through it. There are some lovely melodies, some great instrumental touches and arrangements, particularly the horn and string lines. It does get off to a great start - I love the cello and horn on The Shining, locating immediately as being very British and quite northern, hitting a great mournful tone, before the lightly grunge toasted feel of Everybody’s Stalking and the great little instrumental, Bewilder. From there is skips lightly across lo-fi folky baroquey pop rock; Camping Next to Water, the bouncy and catchy Once Around the Block, the Tsunami-esque Bewilderbeast, the mildly acerbic Pissing in the Wind, the soft rock and catchy Disillusion and Say it Again all great songs. It is a bit long though, with too many tracks, and although there are great passages and songs throughout, it does feel tonally and thematically very much in one furrow. Knock about 15 minutes off and this would solidly be a 4, but as it is it's right on the edge. It's a very nice, very agreeable listen, and it feels like it's been forgotten about over the last 20 years, so with that in mind and the added dollop of nostalgia I think I’ll go for a low 4. 🧌🧌🧌🧌 Playlist submission: The Shining

Really enjoyed, at first I was a bit put off by the ‘amateurish’ vocals, but I now think that’s what makes it so good. I love the acoustic bits, the experimental and rockier bits, no complaints whatsoever. Favourite songs: first 2, camping next to water(especially this one), body rap and the last 2. Overall around 8/10 (I so want to say 9 but barely not quite)

I really enjoyed this album. I saw Badly Drawn Boy support Squeeze in November and meant to listen to this album the day after that and never got round to it. I am glad I did today. There are some lovely melodies and pop songs on this album. Favourite song: The Shinning is a lovely song, and I really enjoyed once around the block. Least favourite: I enjoyed all the tracks on the album. Album artwork: Cool cover

Really enjoyed the music. The variety of instruments, arrangements… Overall found this to be Slightly upbeat, but. very calming, Listen to it multiple times.

Pretty good. Will listen again. Fusion of a lot of genres folk-country, hip-hop, etc.

A rummage through a Mancunian attic, this could be sawed in half and made tight, but the anticlimactic, bric-a-brac baroque vibe seems deliberate, a large part of whatever charmed its audience back in the day. This dour, slightly wistful, big chorus-scorning kind of music was a movement, now I look back. Never bothered with him at the time, wistful to see he has faded since (like most), I found this good company with little to hang onto, though one song did barge its way to the front, and it feels right the title is “Pissing in the Wind”.

This guy clearly worships at the altar of Elliott Smith, whom I consider to be the wet dream of scruffy white hetero hipster men. There’s a lot to like here. His songs are good, interesting and full of variety, but his voice never truly wavers from the very limited range of Elliott Smith apathy. I doubt I could ever fall in love with this album because I don’t feel like his music is meant for me personally, but overall it is a lovely contribution to the world.

A bit better than I expected. Some diverse tracks.

re chill banco

N'ayant plus aucun souvenir de cet album et accusant un retard d'une dizaine de critiques, j'ai ici reproduit ma technique consistant à réécouter cinq secondes au hasard et baser ma note celles-ci. Résultat de l'opération : deux-trois notes de piano et quelques percussions tardives. Un peu léger...

I get it, but I’m not sure I get it, you know? This record is fine, and I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who fell in love with it when it came out and still holds it dear. But, I don’t know how much power it has to convert people 25 years later. It’s a lot like the typeface used on the cover: endearing and novel for 2020, but a bit cliche now. "Disillusion" was the song that caught my attention most, but it's a very late swing in an album that otherwise all feels remarkably similar. It's a solid debut effort, but doesn't feel like it rises to the hype.

Badly Drawn Boy play... well... poorly composed music. If “The Hour Of Bewilderbeast” had been released in the early 90s, it could have been described as “just another alternative rock band.” But with its release in 2000, it's more like the last gasp of a style that was never meant to last. On top of that, the album has a poorly produced sound that 10 years earlier could have been seen as a protest against the overproduced 80s. This way it's really just a sign of incompetence that the drums don't sound properly integrated because the bass is poorly mixed. It's all a bit sad, because Badly Drawn Boy aren't actually a bad band. Their music is just boring.

It feels to me like Badly Drawn Boy is a serious case of who you know. It isn't that it is bad, just so... ordinary. Saw him live once too and remember getting bored very quickly. I hoped to revisit the album and be proved wrong. How on earth it is on a list like this I have no idea. A guitar a few melodies and some nice production doesn't make it anything remotely special.

I suppose it suits a certain mood, I have never been in that particular mood yet.

Badly Drawn Boy’s The Hour of the Bewilderbeast is a masterfully produced and beautifully executed journey that easily earns a 5/5, striking a perfect balance between intricate instrumentation and gorgeous melodies. The album opens strong with the stunning strings and breezy atmosphere of "The Shining," setting a high standard that is matched by the top-tier, 100-point melody of "Once Around the Block," the catchy hook of "Everybody's Stalking," and the smooth, comforting vibe of "Magic in the Air." While a few tracks like "This Song" falter due to distracting panning effects, and others like "Cause a Rock Slide" miss the mark entirely, the record excels at creating vivid sonic atmospheres; "Fall in a River" captures its title perfectly to deliver a true acoustic experience, while "Camping Next to Water" shines with fantastic percussion. Damon Gough's brilliant musicianship keeps the momentum going through standout grooves like the tense, beautiful finale of "Dissolution," ultimately wrapping up with the fittingly solid "Epitaph." It is a wonderfully played and deeply cohesive piece of art where the stellar highs effortlessly coast over the brief, minor lulls.

Grosses vibes grungy, rock, folk Eliott Smith, John Lennon, Cobain. Avec un côté orchestral qui fait penser aux Beatles de Sgt Pepper ou Nick Drake. Drette dans mon répertoire, je compromettrais mon intégrité si je mettais pas 5. Mais hey! Fou que je connaissais pas ça, (sauf de nom, vaguement).

Huh. I confused their name with Fall Out Boy and didn't think I liked them. But hearing this, first I was shocked to realize I knew several of the tracks but didn't know they were the artist. The whole album was interesting, fun, engaging. This belongs in the rarified air of the 5 list.

Did NOT expect this one to be on the list. My college roommate and I thought we were the only ones who'd ever heard of this guy. Enjoyed the nostalgia trip.

His best album and some of the best songwriting of the era .

This album caught me by surprise, kinda Jon Brion / Elliot Smith vibes, i had to listen to it twice casue the 1st time i was high and getting too emotional any ways will definitely revisit this one

#119/1001 🇬🇧🐝 Whilst i've seen BDB live a couple of times (and even sat on the table next to him for Sunday lunch in my local) in the past i've never heard this record in full which i'm now realising is a big mistake. It's brilliant - a true revelation. I always found Damon to be a little self depreciating and harsh on himself live but this is a wonderful varied record with some killer pop tunes and other more low key numbers. Best tracks: Everybody's Stalking, Pissing in the Wind, Once Around the Block, The Shining.

I've loved this album for a long time. It's always felt like a cohesive suite rather than merely a collection of songs. Only nit is the aggressive left/right panning in "This Song" which I find hard to listen to.

I love this album. Staggering reach, treating melancholy like a cut gem that reflects a different shade with each facet. One of the albums on this list I have actually foisted onto people.

An all time favourite.

A really good album, each song had a nice melody to it. I liked Everybody's Stalking, Camping Next to Water, Stone On The Water and Once Around the Block the most.

Very folky. I personally really like this album. The British Indie scene is a very underground and underrated scene. The album was very entertaining to listen to. Definitely belongs on here.

surprisingly nice!

Wow, what a great independent vibe!

Dit album verdient het om aandachtig geluisterd te worden, maar eist het niet op. Zonder klagen kan hij op de achtergrond verdwijnen als generic singer/songwriter indie folk/pop. De zachte, intieme klanken en songwriting zijn onpretentieus. Maar, wie besluit om met volledige aandacht te luisteren, zal meer diepgang ontdekken dan op de oppervlakte zichtbaar was. Het is een album bomvol met parels. Elk nummer is uniek (mede dankzij de indrukwekkende variatie van instrumenten), gelaagd, en evocatief. The Shining geeft de luisteraar een warm welkom met zachte French horns, die klinken alsof ze je uitnodigen om mee te gaan op een muzikale reis door het album. Veel nummers vloeien in elkaar over, wat de algehele luisterervaring nog plesanter maakt. Als je ooit een uurtje helemaal tot rust wil komen, zet dan dit album aan en doe verder niks. Het album heeft een melancholische tint, maar zonder droevigheid. Het is een soort bevredigende nostalgie. Het soort nostalgie van: "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Tot slot eindigt het album met een positieve message, die de reis afsluit en waarmee het album afscheid neemt van de luisteraar. "I hope you never die, These no need to say why, Just promise that you'll try." Likes songs: The Shining Everybody's Stalking Stone on the Water Another Pearl Once Around The Block Pissing In The Wind Disillusion Say It Again

Very impressive - I thought it was a full band and it's only one guy! Great early 2000s grunge/indie rock. Wikipedia says this album is his defining work - I highly enjoyed it.

Omllll so when he says it’s a combination of nick drake, John Lennon, and more with a more like yes I’m driving in Virginia and it’s foggy or more like Scotland and I am romanticizing everything about it. HELLA LONG but I feel like we need that these days..

I don't care if it's too long, inessential for the list... on such a gray, rainy day this softness works for me. I'd say it sounds pretty modern for 2000 too.

A very fantastic album, with great musicians. No woner it won best new album in the Mercury Prize. Too bad here in the US is was not as wildly listened to or played on the radio.

Really rated this. Maybe I’m being generous but I reckon after a few more listened this’ll be a solid 5.

Contains one of my favourite songs of all time

Super album. Proche d'arctic monkeys.

I love the horns and gentle instrumentation & vocals. Quirky in the best way. Tracks to Track: The Shining, Magic in the Air

it‘s good

So many songs I knew but didn't know I knew. A beautiful journey through a poignant landscape. A journey I want to take again

Sent me right back to being like 14 in 2004 when I first discovered this album. I hadn't listened in a long time and I really enjoyed the opportunity to re-listen to this again.

This kept me afloat a stressful day. Didn't lose my temper like I usually do when my co-workers don't do things and I gotta play clean up. It's a chill album and I appreciate the calm tempo. No stress here ☺️🫰

No idea how to describe this musical style - some singer-songwriter type stuff, some instrumental with instruments I can't identify - but I really liked it!

This was a very unique-sounding album

Glückstreffer, toller fund, tolles album. Unaufgeregt, aber tief. Einfach schön.

No doubt about it that I do have a penchant for guitar playing troubadours producing exquisite melodies with a folky feel, northern English grit and plenty or orchestral overdubs. Badly Drawn Boy ticks all these boxes so no surprise that I have this album and a fair few of his others. A great album which can make you happy and also when in that mood very melancholy. 5/5 28/8/25

I bought this album on CD at the same time as XO by Elliott Smith. Both were purchased purely on recommendations and reviews - in those days you didn't have direct access to whatever music you liked, whenever you wanted to hear it. One of my best days ever for music buying. I still listen to this regularly and love it as much as the first time I heard it. If you find yourself stuck in traffic, pop it on and let the wave of calm just wash over you.

Another gem discovered thanks to this list. It seems long, but it moves really fast. Great pacing, rhythm, production… love it. I truly appreciate these surprises

been about 20 years since I've listened to this album in full. It's bloody great

Perfect voice! Nice music.

Early 2000s British rock was all about coming down from the highs of Cool Britannia, whereby the lessons were to never be so ambitious that you'd lose sight of what got you towards the finish line. There had to be new ways to showcase ceaseless talent and Badly Drawn Boy provided the path. The Hour of Bewilderbeast is an hour or so of endlessly endearing folk-pop efforts designed to be as shambolic as possible, but failing to do so on account of its accessible structures. The Hour of Bewilderbeast is the sounds of a dawning of a new age, where participation isn't expected but the amount of work put in is something to admire and respect from afar. The boy may be as badly drawn as he wants to, but deep down, he's a clever painting.

Maybe ran a bit long, but it was enchanting throughout

Атмосферно. Альбом как саундтрек к какому-то фильму

An album of pure majesty which manages to be so traditional, yet so innovative at the same time. BDB looks like a busker but by god he’d be the best busker there was. Tracks like Once around the block, , Disillusion, Pissing in the wind and the Shining. BDB also made great videos for this album, who can forget him perched on the edge of Joan Collins’s bath

I was so pleased to see this pop up - I bought it on CD when it was released and still listen to it 25 years later. This is such an incredibly accomplished debut album. The instrumentation is beautiful on all these tracks - haunting and gentle and soaring one minute then slightly discordant and off-kilter the next. Personal favourites are Everybody's Stalking, Once Around The Block (the reason I bought the album in the first place), Magic In The Air, Disillusion, and Bewilderbeast is my favourite of the instrumentals. My only real negative is that listening to This Song with good headphones is one of the most discombobulating things ever, as it pans between ears. It's a bit like the audio form of standing on a ferry when the sea is a bit choppy. However, for me this album was always going to be a: 5/5

Oh my god yes yes

4.5

9/10… chamber pop

felt the vibe in the moment. might change by grade later