The Welsh singer-songwriter David Gray recorded White Ladder, at home in 1998 and self-released it after three previous albums garnered critical acclaim but few sales apart from in Ireland. His Welsh accent is foremost as he produces poetic odes to lost love, the resiliency of young hearts, and the pain of experience. Gray's work finds the universality at the heart of folk music and tweaks it just enough to make it relevant for alternative audiences.

Opening for the likes of Dave Matthews and Radiohead helped up his profile and led to Matthews choosing White Ladder as the U.S. debut for his new ATO label. There's a strong dose of romantic wanderlust throughout. "This Year's Love," with its somber piano notes, captures the drifter feel of earlier Gray work (such as the remarkable "A Gathering of Dust" from his debut album)."Sail Away" is another stand out track in the tradition of love songs and sailing. As a romantic Gray clearly loves words, and the way he emphasizes them--spitting them out in contempt one minute, soulfully stretching a note out at other moments--lends his music drama. It's no wonder he's been compared to so heavy an improviser as Van Morrison. 'This Years Love' is probably his best known single off the album

White Ladder - Track Listing
1. Please Forgive Me
2. Babylon
3. My Oh My
4. We're Not Right
5. Nightblindness
6. Silver Lining
7. White Ladder
8. This Years Love
9. Sail Away
10. Say Hello Wave Goodbye
11. Babylon II