A New Day at Midnight

Welsh singer-songwriter David Gray's story is the classic one of the overnight success that took years to happen. He started out in the mid-'90s as an acoustic-oriented folk-rock performer whose approach was heavily influenced by Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. Several fine-but-ignored albums passed before he reinvented himself via electronica-flavored production techniques to unprecedented success with 1999's WHITE LADDER. Three years later, the highly anticipated follow-up A NEW DAY AT MIDNIGHT boasts production that pretty much picks up where its famed predecessor left off, but this time around the blend of electronic and organic textures is even more deft. Loops, synths, and electronic effects mix seamlessly with acoustic piano and guitar and of course, Gray's rough-hewn vocal style. But the understated elegance of Gray's tunes and the conviction of his performances is even more handily underscored here than on WHITE LADDER.