David Gray
Life In Slow Motion

“Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything is transformed”

It might be intriguing to apply these famous words by Antoine Lavoisier to music, thus running the risk of uncovering some small truths, like realizing that it is becoming increasingly difficult to propose something original in today's musical context. One might then ask whether it is always necessary to do so, but for now, perhaps it is best not to digress and to simply acknowledge this apparent transformation of David Gray. “Life In Slow Motion” indeed seems very different from his previous works, certainly simpler, minimal, and stripped down. It is very rich and elaborate in its arrangements, mainly centered around the string orchestra, further enriched by brass, backing vocals, and piano motifs supporting Gray's singing, which remains beautiful, confident, and prominent even in this highly emphasized context.

Why this metamorphosis? It appears the album, stemming from Gray's desire to draw inspiration from Phil Spector, took this direction thanks to the producer Marius de Vries, who has a passion for pompous arrangements. Thus, Gray has left behind uncomfortable, though debatable, comparisons, like those with Bob Dylan, and the various clichés that critics hastily pinned on him after the release of “White Ladder”. Was it worth it?
For now, perhaps not entirely. In fact, the result is an honest, pleasant, listenable, serene, linear album, with some intimate undertones, but not always inspired and without high peaks of interest. Overall, it is not unforgettable, in short. Furthermore, not all of the album appears at the same level.
While the melodic construction, string development, and vocal interpretative strength of “Alibi” at the beginning are sufficiently worthy of attention, the same cannot be said, for instance, about tracks like “The One I Love”, which is essentially a low-profile radio-friendly song, or “Nos Da Cariad”, which musically evokes a bit too much of the less successful work of Coldplay. The most interesting moment of the album could be “From Here You Can Almost See The Sea” where – finally – a guitar clearly emerges and the emphasis on strings decreases, or “Lately”, an overall simple song that highlights some small, tangible emotions. But, besides these examples and Gray's admittedly beautiful voice, there is little amid these instrumental excesses.

Now, however, setting aside the transformation of the arrangements, one might question whether “Life in Slow Motion” is a true change. After all, David Gray has always been an excellent pop musician and this album is nothing but pop. Baroque, honest, sincere, well-made, listenable, not as outstanding as at times in the past, but still and only pop, as before. Perhaps with this album, it is now merely clearer. Not everything is transformed.