The Hour of Bewilderbeast - Reception and Legacy

Reception and Legacy

The Hour of Bewilderbeast has received mostly positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 78 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Several reviewers compared the album to Beck and Elliott Smith.

Allmusic's John Bush praised the album, writing "Despite all attempts to sabotage his songwriting and production with innumerable experimental tidbits, songs within a song, and (seemingly) tossed-off arrangements, Damon Gough has to face the fact that he wrote and produced over a dozen excellent songs of baroque folk-pop for his album debut, and the many gems can't help but shine through all the self-indulgence." Bush also praised Gough's use of humor in the lyrics. musicOMH's Michael Hubbard also gave the album a positive review, writing "This album deserves to do well for many more reasons than the act's name, excellent though it is. It is light, breezy and atmospheric, a surprise is set loose with every track and even the title is marvellous." Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork Media described the album as "loose" and "scatterbrain," but nevertheless praised the album, writing "Piano, strings, harps, and Wurlitzer attach insect wings to the lovely songs. They'll swarm and pester your head for days. With this concise tour through the gentler side of British songwriting history... Badly Drawn Boy proves what shallow saps American liberal arts majors can be behind a guitar."

Spin's Barney Hoskyns, on the other hand, gave the album a more mixed review, writing "Gough's dewy little tunes are mere scribblings in the margins of alt-folk's dog-eared hook-book, while his too-cool-to-care singing is drip-dry dreary." Hoskyns continued: "Stand The Hour of Bewilderbeast next to Elliott Smith's Figure 8 for a few bars and Gough starts to look like an imposter."

The Hour of Bewilderbeast has appeared on a few end of year lists. Pitchfork Media ranked the album #18 on its list of the top 20 albums of 2000. NME ranked the album #4 on its list of the 50 best albums of 2000. In addition, the album received the 2000 Mercury Prize, a prize Gough was favored to win. When Gough received the prize, he tossed the prize money on the ground and said: "I always assumed I was never going to win because good things don't happen to good people normally."