When David Gray issued “Plus & Minus” as a lead single a few months ahead of the release of his latest LP, Dear Life, in and of itself it was a nice enough track, recalling the kind of three-minute, incisive introspection- shaded, ever so, with both melancholy and acceptance- that has been a hallmark of his songwriting across a career in its third decade. Yet, in the context of the album, it is slotted as the second song- following a placid “After the Harvest”- and in that position, by contrast, it springs into action as a bouncy little dynamo, despite lyrically lamenting a routine that’s “getting old.” Over 25 years after Gray’s breakthrough, White Ladder, and his ‘routine’ is as ripe and renewing as ever.

To its credit, Dear Life feels as much like a return to the strengths of Ladder- the supple acoustic guitar and arching piano, the folktronica percussion, the unobtrusive, yet penetrating lyrics, and that Earth-worn voice- as anything Gray has done in recent memory. Maybe it comes from the recent extensive touring he did to celebrate Ladder’s 20th anniversary, during which he performed the entire record each night. Or, as likely, this is Gray simply leaning in to what he does so well.

There are plenty of brilliant wrinkles to enjoy, including Talia Rae partnering on the aforementioned “Plus & Minus,” as well as Gray’s continued penchant for creative arrangements within the bare simplicity. No better example of the latter than on “Leave Taking,” whose compositional sensibility harkens back to Ravel’s “Bolero,” as the counterpoint of instrumentation escalates to a horn-laced crescendo. Horns return on “Fighting Talk,” and “Future Bride,” as strings grace “Acceptance (It’s Alright), as the tripping bass-drum beat provides tension in the closing falsetto sweep of “The First Stones”; such tasty flourishes registering as conscious, yet judicious and affecting choices, never indulgent.

Dear Life feels cumulative in some respects. It’s as if this letter to it all rolls Gray’s past peaks into a prologue for this moment. Resultantly, it’s another exceptional effort from Gray, and exactly the kind of evocative, misty album that, much like life, itself, rewards the investment of experience, patience, and time.