English folkster disappoints fans

David Gray, a longtime musical mainstay in the United Kingdom, maintained relative obscurity among United States fans. That is, until the release of his 1999 album White Ladder, an instant classic that justifiably went double-platinum stateside.\nWhite Ladder is that rare breed of rock album that is predominantly entertaining from start to finish, propelled by the lovely balladry of "Please Forgive Me," "Babylon" (immensely overplayed, but nonetheless very good), "My Oh My," "This Years Love," "Sail Away" and "Say Hello Wave Goodbye." \nGray's latest, A New Day at Midnight, is quite the opposite. Made in the midst of the passing of Gray's father (to whom the album is dedicated), the enterprise carries a much heavier heart, and is not nearly as romanticized as his breakthrough effort. Sometimes Gray's newly found sense of melancholy pays off ("Easy Way to Cry" and "The Other Side" are very much indicative of this trend), but at other times they simply bog things down in heavy-handed sentiment, i.e. "Knowhere" and "December."\nA New Day at Midnight finds its footing mostly in written collaborations between Gray and his co-producer, an individual known simply as McClune. Beautifully romantic and unabashedly poppy tracks such as "Real Love" and "Be Mine," for which the two share writing credit, come closest to mining the magic of White Ladder.\nElsewhere on the album Gray shines with "Dead in the Water," the most techno-driven of Gray's tried-and-true folk/pop formula on A New Day at Midnight (a trend also reminiscent of White Ladder), and later on "Freedom," a long, lilting lament to the fleeting nature of love. Sure, it's whiney, but few do it better.\nGray should be applauded for venturing out and trying something new with A New Day at Midnight, as opposed to producing "Babylon III." But just because the album is less reliant on digital nuances and somewhat more introspective, doesn't make it better. Fans of Gray would be well advised to give the album a listen -- just because it doesn't measure-up to the masterful White Ladder doesn't mean it's not without its merits. For the uninitiated yet curious, check out White Ladder; it showcases the artist A New Day at Midnight only hints at.