I must admit, when I first popped the new David Gray CD into my computer, I had to fight the urge to immediately point, click and drag the entire album into my naptime playlist before I even heard the first track. But I'm glad I resisted. Life in Slow Motion is unexpectedly eclectic, and listeners will be pleasantly surprised that Gray ventures beyond his typical sorrowful simplicity.
Life, Gray's seventh album, marks an important transition in the seasoned artist's career as his first release under Dave Matthews' ATO label. With the switch from RCA and the help of producer Marius De Vries, this album emerges as a clean, polished masterpiece.
"Alibi" starts things off in familiar Gray style with heartbreaking melodies floating over simple piano accompaniment. The mood is quickly lightened with the lively "The One I Love," and variety continues with "From Here You Can Almost See the Sea," a definite album highlight with soaring vocals reminiscent of Coldplay's Chris Martin.
Natalie Mendoza's backing vocals are truly haunting on the soothing "Ain't No Love," followed by "Hospital Food," a quirky tune that spices up the album with its 80s-esque synth accompaniment and upbeat tempo. Thus Life in Slow Motion proves itself as a diverse exploration of instruments, vocals and themes.
Of personal importance to me is a song's ability to lyrically stand on its own, and here again Life in Slow Motion doesn't disappoint. What started as a simple flip-through of the album's cover booklet resulted in my reading the whole thing start to finish. And yes, I realize I'm a bit of a lyrics freak, but this stuff is poetry.
The lyrics are scenic, descriptive, spiritual and poignant -- and that's just the words. Put to music, these songs take on a life of their own, emerging as proof of David Gray's irrefutable skill as a singer, songwriter and musician.
Life in Slow Motion conveniently drops less than a month before Gray's nationwide tour kicks off October 3 in D.C., giving fans an incentive to give Ticketmaster a call. While still an artist whose music creates a dimmed-lights-and-glass-of-wine atmosphere, David Gray's exploration of repertoire on Life will undoubtedly result in a much more exciting live show. Concert-goers are likely to enjoy broad instrumentation and a wide variety of songs, some of which might even induce a little foot tapping. Shocking, I know.
With new management and an invigorating new style, David Gray evolves as an artist while maintaining that calming ambiance that made him a success from the start. Life in Slow Motion proves that his work is finally becoming more than just music to fall asleep to. So wake up and tune in -- change is a very good thing.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
