The British songwriter Damon Gough, alias Badly Drawn Boy, debuted 10 years ago with the Mercury Prize-winning album The Hour of Bewilderbeast — which contained one of the loveliest uses ever of a French horn on a pop song, on the memorable single “The Shining.” Disappointingly, nothing he’s released since then – forays into funk, overblown orchestration, homages to Springsteen – has lived up to Bewilderbeast’s once-shining promise. But it’s never too late to turn things around – this year’s It’s What I’m Thinking Pt. 1 – Photographing Snowflakes – Gough’s seventh album – finally heralds something of a return to his original subtly moving sound. New songs like “Too Many Miracles” and “In Safe Hands” flow with smooth strings, light fingerpicking, and fragile melodies. With Justin Jones. ERIN K. THOMPSON

Mon., Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m., 2010