Zack: The fact that this album is connected with Dave
Matthews, even if it was just rereleased on his label, hurts me so deeply. It
is just so fantastic. It’s definitely folksy, but there are just enough hints
of rock and pop influences that it stands out as something special. That
special something may just be because I recognized one of the songs from an
episode of Scrubs, but I think there is something deeper going on. The rest of
the album is equally awe inspiring. It’s the kind of music that works for almost
any occasion. I could drive to this. I could write to this (I’m actually
relistening to it while I write this, so I can verify that it does work). I
could cook a delicious feast to this. I could cut open a tauntaun to this. I
could work in a hospital and get into whacky hijinks to this. It can enhance
anything, regardless of your mood or activity.
Emily: My progress of listening to this album was a journey. Once again, I was on a bus, but this time heading home. I had woken up to catch said bus at 5:30, drifted in and out of sleep for about 2 hours, and eventually sat up groggy and thought that it was a great time to work on blogging. Fun fact: it wasn't. In my hungry, half-asleep, stuck-in-a-bus-seat state, I was unprepared for an understated folk album. For the first few songs, I could not get into it. I thought it was slow, uncreative, and just mediocre. Once I made it about halfway through, though, I really started to enjoy White Ladder. Maybe it was because I had eaten some pretzels, maybe the caffeine from my rest-stop coffee had started to kick in, or maybe the second half was simply better than the first. What seemed boring in the early tracks became simple and sweet, allowing the vocals to shine through with a bit of rock edge. Whatever it was that changed my perspective, I need to give the modern folk sounds of David Gray another chance - perhaps the whole album really is as good as the second half alone.
Favorite Tracks: Nightblindness; Sail Away; White Ladder
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