Mutineers is the tenth studio album by English singer-songwriter David Gray, released on 17 June 2014 on IHT Records, with "Back in the World" as its first single. It was Gray's fifth consecutive US Top 20 album.[2] A decade after its release, Gray said that he is "super proud" of what was "a purposeful first step into the current creative zone, both sonically and thematically".[3]

Mutineers
Studio album by
Released17 June 2014
RecordedNovember 2013–March 2014
StudioThe Church Studios
GenreFolk rock
Length48:22
LabelGood Soldier Songs
ProducerAndy Barlow
David Gray chronology
Foundling
(2010)
Mutineers
(2014)
Gold in a Brass Age
(2019)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating

Background

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In the years leading up to the recording of the album, Gray had become exhausted and disillusioned. "Coming out of the noughties, I just felt beat up, physically and mentally", he told critic Tony Clayton-Lea. "And bored".[4] Gray recounted that he "needed someone else in the studio to help me find the keys to the city; someone who would take me to a place that I hadn't heard before. And that person was Andy Barlow", a producer and musician. He described the collaboration as "a beautiful agony". The pair established a "stringent recording schedule", which unlocked a "creative spontaneity" that Gray found "priceless", and which ultimately "rehumanised" him.[4]

Release

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On 1 April 2014, the video for "Gulls" premiered on both the Myles O'Reilly website and Gray's official YouTube channel, with O'Reilly being the director.[5][6] On 10 April, "Back in the World" was uploaded onto Gray's official YouTube channel.[7] A day later, the song was played by radio presenter Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2 for The Chris Evans Breakfast Show.[8]

Critical reception

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Tony Clayton-Lea found that the album saw Gray "reconnect with a fervour" that had been absent since the artist had found massive commercial success with White Ladder.[4] Writing in The Irish Times, the critic said that it was "yet another departure point" for the artist. The Guardian noted "a timeworn quality that's charismatic", in an album where "[optimism] is the overriding theme".[9] It was "the sound of a man gently recuperating from a decade of being defined by his multimillion-selling 1998 album, White Ladder". PopMatters saw it as an overdue sequel, "the kind of follow-up to 1998's smash White Ladder for which longtime fans have been waiting some 16 years", and "the most comfortable Gray has sounded in years".[10]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by David Gray except where noted

Mutineers track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Back in the World"Gray, Andy Barlow3:57
2."As the Crow Flies"Gray, Barlow4:13
3."Mutineers" 5:01
4."Beautiful Agony"Gray, Barlow4:04
5."Last Summer" 4:13
6."Snow in Vegas" 4:21
7."Cake and Eat It" 2:33
8."Birds of the High Arctic"Gray, Barlow6:24
9."The Incredible"Gray, Robbie Malone3:23
10."Girl Like You" 5:18
11."Gulls" 4:55
Total length:48:22
Bonus track version
No.TitleLength
12."Nearly Midnight"3:51
Total length:52:13

Personnel

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  • David Gray – vocals, pianos, guitars, keyboards, harp, harmonica, Juno synthesizer
  • Rob Malone – bass, acoustic, electric and nylon string guitars, e-bow, high strung guitar
  • Keith Prior – drums, percussion
  • Caroline Dale – cello
  • Andy Barlow – programming

Charts

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Chart performance for Mutineers
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 22
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 67
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 57
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 31
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 53
Irish Albums (IRMA)[16] 7
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 36
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 27
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 10
US Billboard 200[20] 15

References

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  1. ^ "Reviews for Mutineers by David Gray". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  2. ^ "David Gray: Billboard 200". Billboard.com. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  3. ^ David, Gray (17 June 2024). "Mutineers is Ten Today!". @DavidGray X.com.
  4. ^ a b c Clayton-Lea, Tony (18 June 2014). "David Gray: the beautiful agony of Mutineers". IrishTimes.com. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  5. ^ David Gray (1 April 2014). "David Gray – Gulls (Official Video)" – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "David Gray: Gulls". 1 April 2014.
  7. ^ David Gray (10 April 2014). "David Gray – Back in the World (Audio)" – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "Instagram photo by David Gray • Apr 11, 2014 at 3:41pm UTC". Archived from the original on 25 December 2021.
  9. ^ Gibsone, Harriet (26 June 2014). "David Gray: Mutineers review – a timeworn quality that's charismatic". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  10. ^ Maguire, Colin (23 July 2024). "David Gray: Mutineers". PopMatters.com. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Australiancharts.com – David Gray – Mutineers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – David Gray – Mutineers" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – David Gray – Mutineers" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – David Gray – Mutineers" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – David Gray – Mutineers" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography David Gray". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Charts.nz – David Gray – Mutineers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – David Gray – Mutineers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  20. ^ "David Gray Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 April 2021.