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Sunshine When It's Gray

A A A Comments By Steven Devadanam Thursday, Mar 9 2006

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Few musicians are so appropriately named as Brit singer-songwriter David Gray. Melancholy even when it's upbeat, his music evokes visions of rain-smattered fields under a charcoal sky. But that's not to say his lush melodies and hooks aren't addictive. Gray harks back to the corduroy-clad balladeers of the ´70s -- say, Billy Joel in his prime -- who crafted soaring tunes that anyone, anywhere could relate to. When he sings "Tell the repo man and the stars above / you're the one I love" on his latest release, Life in Slow Motion, you're honestly rooting for him to get the girl. Gray, who struck it big back in ´98 with his hit "Babylon," is returning to Houston today to make good on a gig he canceled in November. He'll be joined by Mark Hale, a.k.a. Aqualung, a fellow Brit whose Beatlesque single "Brighter than Sunshine" -- with its coffeehouse vocal stylings, simple piano chords and soaring string arrangements -- has become an iPod staple. It promises to be a night of brilliant musical storytelling, especially if the forecast calls for rain.
Thu., March 9