David Gray's underdog status used to part of the reason why people liked him so much. So now that he's made for life and owns his own studio, can he still make records as charming and intimate as White Ladder? On the basis of Life in Slow Motion, the answer is: absolutely. The production may be a bit glossier than before, but otherwise it's business as usual: big-hearted, emotional folk-rock songs that brilliantly transcend the limitations of the one-bloke-and-his-guitar genre. He claims that the lyrics this time are about other people's lives, but in fact one of Gray's biggest strengths is that you always believe he's really lived through the traumatic events that he communicates in that unmistakable bark of a voice. A really fine album.

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