David Gray - Foundling Review

Foundling

David Gray

Release Date: 16th Aug, 2010
Label: Polydor
Genre: Pop
Purchase on Amazon

After a year spent chiefly on the road and less than 12 months since his last major release, David Gray brings us his ninth album, 'Foundling', an extract from a period of intense creativity and labour.


Born as a side project during the sessions for its predecessor 'Draw The Line', 'Foundling' quickly burst into bloom and commanded the full attention of its creator - an experiment left in the lab overnight that you wake to find taking over your world. "It's the record I've been wanting to make for a long time, and it's as strong a statement as White Ladder in its way - a jumping off point for what might happen next."


Invoking the spirit of its multi-million selling ancestor is no idle comparison since this too was composed aside from commercial expectations and schedules, entirely on its creator's terms. "I felt like this was my private record, I didn't get too picky, I threw out a lot of the everyday concerns of record making, and it's actually a wonderfully liberating feeling. I've done so much recording lately, I think you eventually get braver, and go further, sometimes by doing less. We just made it the way we wanted to."


David's collaborators here include White Ladder producer and long term colleague Iestyn Polson, Caroline Dale and her octet, the Kick Horns as well as the regular members of the band rearranged into different roles. The result offers contradictions - minimalist and dramatic, understated and mature - and has yielded early comparisons to Tom Waits, Randy Newman and The Band. Like the orphan from whom its name is taken, Foundling has a special place in the hearts of its assorted parents, "We just love it," says David. They trust that it will find affection out in the wider world, now that it stands alone.

Reviewed by Steve Muscutt

About The Artist

David Gray

David Gray is a British singer-songwriter born on June 13, 1968 in Sale, United Kingdom. He released his first studio album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder six years later in 1999. Gray moved to Wales at age 9 and later returned to the north-west of England to attend the University of Liverpool. His musical career got early support from a dedicated Irish fan base. After a few marginally-successful releases through the 1990s, Gray's breakthrough came with the worldwide release in 1999 of his fourth album, White Ladder; this was a critical and commercial success and included his best-known songs, "This Years Love" and "Babylon". In the United States, the album received a boost from jam-band leader Dave Matthews, who made it the first release by the record company he co-founded, ATO Records. On August 11, 2001 White Ladder at last reached the top of the UK charts, having been selling steadily since its reissue the previous May, thereby setting a new record for the longest uninterrupted climb to No. 1. The follow-up, A New Day At Midnight, also hit No. 1, and Gray's seventh album, Life In Slow Motion was released on September 12, 2005. Gray's early music was in a contemporary folk-rock, singer-songwriter mode; his primary instrument was acoustic guitar, with occasional piano. 1996's Sell Sell Sell featured some rock arrangements and electric instrumentation. Starting with the release of White Ladder in 1999, Gray began to make significant use of computer-generated music to accompany his voice and acoustic instrumentation, a technique which differentiates him from many of his peers. Despite the move to more complex music, Gray has used small-scale, often home-based, recording methods and equipment and espoused a "do it yourself" approach to music production. However, Life in Slow Motion is a collaboration with noted producer Marius De Vries. David Gray's brothers-in-law are Paul and Phillip Hartnoll, formerly of the Techno/Rave band Orbital. Because of this relationship, Gray performed guest vocals on the Orbital single Illuminate, while Paul Hartnoll produced a breakbeat remix of Gray's song "Please Forgive Me". His successful single "January Rain" was included in the original soundtrack of the movie Serendipity, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Pictures and additional information can be found on his website, www.DavidGray.com.

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2 Comments

  1. babybylonsistem 08 May 2011

    this is magic!!!

  2. plastorm 17 Aug 2010

    A wonderful album. Quiet; lined with sadness and heart. This is the kind of stuff that made me a fan so many years ago.

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