Bewilderbeast, one of those records that comes along once every few years and shakes the foundations of accepted music business wisdom, is the wonder-work of Damon Gough, a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy, a scruffy, moon-faced Brit who is neither a fame-seeker or a trend follower. He is, rather, an unassuming, somewhat off-the-wall troubadour who writes killer modern love songs with stunningly beautiful arrangements.

Intelligent, observational, and inventive, The Hour of Bewilderbeast occupies the middle ground somewhere between Beck and Elliott Smith, with the brilliance of Dylan, Bacharach, and Drake thrown in to the melting pot. Songs like "Once Around the Block" with its doo-be-doos and Beach Boys harmonies, the other-worldly "This Song," and the Al Stewart-evoking "Stone on the Water" are unashamedly retro, while the sonically berserk "Cause a Rockslide" and the unlikely juxtaposition of traditional acoustic instruments and whizzy synths on "Say It Again" reveal Gough as an artist who gets off on experimentation at every possible level.

From the opening song’s cello and French horn duet right through to the closer’s last verse duet with Gough and his girlfriend and its gentle birdsong fadeout, The Hour of Bewilderbeast adds up to a delightful and uplifting hour.