Top Five Albums of 2009 – #1

*This is part of a series of posts, please refer to the parent post for context*

#1 – David Gray: Draw the Line

A lot of waiting, but here we are at the top of my list for 2009! Words simply cannot describe how much I am in love with this album. I’m by no means a die hard David Gray fan. I was enamored with White Ladder and somewhat underwhelmed by his subsequent albums, which seemed more one note and less complex in terms of a holistic narrative. Draw the Line explores memory, time, relationships, and the connection we feel to the present even when we’re bound by the past. The songs are serious narratives about the dangers of relying too much on ones' own perception, the joys and heartaches of living for the moment and the potential for transcendence. In a way, each song functions as a turn of the kaleidoscope - Gray is always looking at the same end, but the paths leading toward and around it are varied, depending on the moment. It’s the kind of album I can listen to five times in a row without being bored of the material, and every listen provides a new turn of phrase or interpretation.

Favorite Lyrics:

1. “I am a sudden and quite unexpected twist.”
2. “Moses had his tablets, yeah. Noah had his ark. But all I’ve got’s a haystack needle, stabbin’ in the dark.”
   
3. “We can rise above our pettiness and love like we ain’t loved before. Free on this earth as the surf that rolls, crashing on the shore.”
4. “Names beneath the lichen on these cemetery stones, and carnivals of silverfish waiting to dance upon our bones.”

Favorite Tracks: 

1. Jackdaw 
2. First Chance
3. Breathe
4. Stella the Artist