David Gray – Foundling
I had a discussion yesterday with a friend of mine about David Gray’s post-White Ladder output. He made the point that nothing other than A New Day at Midnight was met with praise. I did some research, and found out that generally, the last few David Gray albums received average reviews. I thought they were up there with his finest work (ANDAM for me), but that they didn’t have the singles to propel him back to number 1. As a result, I was expecting something similar from his latest album (and second in twelve months). I thought Foundling would be another worthy addition to his discography, but wouldn’t get the critics’ love or the sales it deserved.
However, I was wrong. Again. Foundling is the worst album of Gray’s career. It starts off with a by-the-numbers song that David Gray could write in his sleep: ‘Only the Wine’. So far, so average. But then on the title track, he tries to be all moody and slow, with a Waterboys-esque vocal run. It’s a terrible song, and if this album ever gets put on again, will be immediately skipped.
Many of the songs just don’t get going. Gray said this was the album he always wanted to make. The songs are slower, and softer. They’re also not very good. ‘Foundling’ is about as inspiring as a Roy Curtis metaphor,’The Old Chair’ is dull until the last minute, but even then, doesn’t really go anywhere. The mediocre ‘We Could Fall In Love Again Tonight’ won’t be put on any take-me-back mixtapes, even with its soulful saxophone solo. It’s obvious why ‘A New Day at Midnight’ was left off the album of the same name. It just wasn’t good enough. So why then, is it good enough now?
There are a couple of good songs here, however. ‘Gossamer Thread’ is decent, as is the change of pace with ‘In God’s Name (For Bryan, pt. 1)’. Gray can do good slow songs, ‘Holding On’ isn’t bad, but an album full of songs like this will never get repeated plays. But mostly it’s a poor imitation of a David Gray album. Some releases of the album have a bonus disc, which is where the album’s lead single ‘A Moment Like This’ is hidden. A bizarre choice. Similarly, ‘Indeed I Will’ is the second last song on the bonus disc, and its pace would have added something extra to the main release. Even still, if one was to cut the entire 19 tracks down to a ten song album, it wouldn’t be very good either. Just not as bad.
Gray told the Guardian that “This record is going to disappear off the face of the earth, bar some freak occurrence.” He’s right. But it’s not because no-one is buying music any more, it’s because he has made a substandard album.
Rating: 
Related posts:
- Album News: David Gray – Foundling
- Album Cover: David Gray – Draw The Line
- Listen: David Gray – Draw the Line clips
- Album News: David Gray
- Live: David Gray at the Olympia
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8 Comments
Rubbish review,give a few listens and a bit more attention,and you will get it,not a big fan of white ladder,loved life in slow motion,give this bad boy a proper listen and keep your hand off the skip button..A fine album,that deserves patience,love your blog by the way.
I did give it a few listens. I don’t like it. Nor will I ever like it. Album’s shouldn’t have to be growers. Why can’t they be good from the outset? The rest of Gray’s albums were. I’m a massive fan of his work, I’ll defend him to the hilt. But this is just not a good album. Not good in comparison to anything else he’s ever done, and not good in comparison to other similar albums that are out there at the moment (the new Ray LaMontagne for example).
I understand what you are saying,but did you review his album draw the line? Of which i found to be his weakest of his career,how would you compare foundling to draw the line,i thought draw the line was a pile of shite.I agree that andam was a very strong album.A lot of albums are growers,look at Manic street preachers journel for plague lovers,thats there best work for years.
Would be very interested on a side note to hear a list of the best concerts you were ever at,and who you have not seen live that you would really love to.
Andrew: I don’t think I reviewed it, but I did like it. I still play it now and then (New Day and Life in Slow Motion get the most plays after his best (Sell, Sell, Sell) though). I think the reason I dislike Foundling so much is the lack of upbeat tracks. There’s some great tracks on the bonus disc, and it’s amazing he didn’t include them on side one. Draw the Line had a good few more upbeat songs, and this is where Gray’s talent lies, I feel.
That second post sounds like a list I need to do.
Hey Ronan, strongly disagree with you. I loved the album from the outset, can’t stop singing his songs all day. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the album as I only bought it yesterday. I must add that Draw the Line album was amazing – loved it, loved it, loved it. He’s getting better all the time. Loving everything you do Dave xx
Solid review Ronan. I sprinted to Best Buy during my lunch break in great anticipation to buy Foundling. I unfortunately had skipped through the entire album by the time I got back to work. I for one have been a fan of DG since I bought White Ladder. I felt that there are maybe three good songs on this album. Somewhere after Life in Slow Motion, his style changed and I have been left wanting more since. His more upbeat songs seem to be where his passion and talents are.
Why can’t they be good from the outset? The rest of Gray’s albums were.
Although I don’t think Foundling is Gray’s greatest, I am compelled to state that comments like this one above hardly bolster a reviewer’s credibility.
First, reactions like this are far more typical of a fast-food, immediate gratification aesthetic than the patient aesthetic that is often necessary in an encounter with artistic output that asks us to transcend our current limits of judgment.
Second, in my experience, as a statement it is completely in error since it has never been true that Gray’s albums were immediately loved.
At the early stages of his career, Gray’s poetic genius was mediated through a musical form that was simple in structure, but profound in the way it united with his lyricism (I have in mind here albums like Flesh, A Century Ends, and the EP’s). As he evolved, he still remained within a folk-structure (primary chordal progressions) but allowed for a more robust creativity to emerge – think of Silver Lining, so simple in its basic structure, but with a brilliant key digression on the chorus that gently and unflinchingly seeps back into the original structure.
My first encounter with Gray was White Ladder, which I did not love immediately. The more pop-like additives that, by this time in his career, he had incorporated tended to put me off. But as I listened, I found myself opened by his poetic sharpness and a simplicity that still shone through all the pop clothing. I then went back to the earlier albums, which also grew on me.
But I learned an important lesson of Gray’s music that you dismiss with a rather myopic sweep of your hand: Gray’s music will always require some patience, for a few reasons.
First, his voice is not the most mellifluous, despite the fact that he sings with a deep, resonant passion.
Second, his lyrics are deeply and profoundly poetic. I for one treasure his music first and foremost for his poetry. This already puts him in a class above even as good a lyricist as La Montagne. But let’s be quite frank: LaMontagne is a good, perhaps great, lyricist. Gray is a poet.
Third, Gray is not afraid to push his own limits, but unlike, say, a Bono, he doesn’t give the impression the he pushes limits almost solely to remain relevant. So one has to struggle with him in his musical ascent and this requires patience.
Anyway, while I would not call Foundling his greatest album, it is certainly far from his worst. I think one of the album’s greatest achievements is a return to some of his earlier simplicity. Besides, I don’t think there really is a worst album if one is truly a Gray fan.