Badly Drawn Boy is back. The English singer-songwriter has shared “Is This a Dream?”, his first new single in seven years. To celebrate the news, he’s also released a music video for the song.
“Is This a Dream?” was produced and mixed by Gethin Pearson (Kele Okereke, JAWS) after original production by Youth (The Verve, Paul McCartney). According to a press release, it’s in support of an upcoming Badly Drawn Boy album — his first since a 2010 trilogy, excluding movie soundtracks.
So what is “Is This a Dream?” all about? Badly Drawn Boy explained the song’s backstory in a press release, going on to call it a mirror of our modern-day absurdities. “The song is a sound collage of chaos and confusion to reflect the ridiculous times we live in,” he said. “A deliberately cartoonesque sonic poke in the eye, to those in whom we place trust, yet instead supply constant barrage of misinformation followed by bad decisions.”
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In the music video, directed by Broken Antler, Badly Drawn Boy’s words come to life in the magical world of animation. Imagine your biggest fears and favorite items brought to life after being cut out of magazines. Donald Trump, the Joker, and a melting planet earth in an ice cream cone are the tip of the graphic iceberg here in this hodgepodge collage. Along the way, Facebook likes and Twitter hearts are sprinkled over everything. After all, this is a surreal dream come to life. Watch it below.
Badly Drawn Boy has one tour date left on his schedule for later this week, though more performances will likely be announced in the coming weeks. Grab tickets to all of his upcoming concerts here.