David Gray Reinvents Himself On Draw The Line

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David Gray’s new album heralds a change for the British songwriter.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Not necessarily. Sometimes all it takes is a little rebuilding, a little rearranging and a few new parts here and there to turn something good into something great.

David Gray’s upcoming album Draw the Line is an example of musical renovation at its most fruitful. Though the British singer/songwriter has sold 12 million records since his debut album A Century Ends hit shelves, Gray felt that Draw the Line was time for a change and brought in a new band and returned to self-production.

These new elements work—Draw the Line sounds fresh and energetic, more like the raw, struggling pre-“Babylon” Gray of A Century Ends and Flesh. Tracks like lead single “Fugitive” and “Full Steam Ahead” (featuring Annie Lennox) flirt with soul, while others like “Breathe” and the title track are updated versions of the pop-folk formula Gray fans have come to know and love in the nearly two decades he’s been around.

Written and recorded in the four years since Gray’s last album Life in Slow Motion (though most of the work began in June 2007), Draw the Line was certainly a labor of love, funded by Gray himself and written without a record label to call home. This atmosphere reignited what the artist himself describes in a press release as his “creative spark” and led to a darker, more confrontational album than those preceding it.

“I just feel very, very alive,” says Gray. “That’s the feeling that’s in Draw The Line.”

The album will be released September 22 on Mercer Street Records.

Full Track listing:

1. Fugitive

2. Draw The Line

3. Nemesis

4. Jackdaw

5. Kathleen

6. First Chance

7. Harder

8. Transformation

9. Stella The Artist

10. Breathe

11. Full Steam

MP3 STREAM > [wpaudio url=”https://americansongwriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/04-Jackdaw160k.mp3″ text=”David Gray – Jackdaw” dl=”0″]

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