Out Of The CD Bin
Out of the CD Bin
By Alan Back

Sell, Sell, Sell is David Gray's third album and his first on the EMI label. If the music on this latest disc is any indication, the reason you probably haven't heard of him before this is that everyone who has listened to his previous stuff is now in a coma.

There are a couple of pieces with a solid rock groove to them, like "Faster, Sooner, Now" and "Late Night Radio"; these come off pretty well, capturing the anger and cynicism of a man alienated from the modern world. The problem is that the punch of such tracks is lost among the drag that sets in when Gray shifts to low gear--very low gear.

The lyrics are too sparse to really convey his intended message. You get the feeling that he is trying to communicate his innermost feelings, but with the words the way they are, it gets difficult to tell just exactly what it is that evokes those feelings.

In addition, Gray sings in a lackluster sort of way throughout the album. It sounds as if somewhere between thinking up the songs and performing them, the intensity he had planned to capture got away from him.

The good thing to be said is that he wastes no sound. There is no guitar chord, bass note, or drum beat that does not need to be in the music (and not much of any other instruments at all, either). You can do a lot with a little bit of sound if you know how to do it right; otherwise it disintegrates and goes nowhere--which is what happens in track after track here.

David Gray's music evokes strong similarities to Bob Dylan: both have slightly annoying voices and put out songs that induce sleep in a large part of their audiences. Sell, Sell, Sell is little more than an exercise in self-indulgence for a Dylan wanna-be who just can't cut it.

(Chilling thought: Ten years down the road, Gray begins composing elevator music. Millions of hapless elevator riders fall into catatonic state. Film at 11.)

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