David Gray comes to us from London, England. Born in Manchester, he moved to Wales as a child and then to London as a young adult. Gray has been playing clubs, pubs, and other small venues throughout the U.K. and Ireland for several years, with much success.
White Ladder is actually Gray’s fourth album, on almost as many labels. Troubles with record companies have contributed to Gray’s delayed appearance on the American music scene.
This album is a collection of songs that vary from the uplifting "Babylon" to the very dark "Night Blindness," and touches on every mood in between. Gray is one of the few musicians to successfully fuse digitally sampled beats with acoustic guitar. He has created a tight balance between raw guitar sounds and digital percussion without going overboard.
As far as influences go, Gray’s vocals bear resemblance to those of Bob Dylan in both sound and poetic lyricism. Having played the opening spot on Radiohead’s 1995 tour, it would seem that their dark sound wore off on Gray somewhat. This album has a more melancholy feel to it than his last. I would also be surprised if Gray hasn’t listened to a bit of Pink Floyd in his life as well.
However, there is also something in the way many of Gray’s songs have dark, haunting verses countered with surprisingly upbeat choruses that resembles Dave Matthews’ writing style. See "My Oh My," "White Ladder," and "Night-blindness." Consider the transitions from verse to chorus in Matthews’ "Warehouse," "Typical Situation," and "The Stone." Both artists put you in a somber mood with their verses, and then throw you into a good mood with the chorus. Maybe it’s just me—I don’t know.
Anyway, this is a great album and I highly recommend it, though it may be a bit offputting at first. I was kind of disappointed with the mellow feel of the album initially, but as I grew to know the songs, they grew on me. This is one of the best albums I’ve heard in a while—you should check it out.
