Draw the Line

The eighth album came out on 14 September 2009 in Europe and 22 September in the United States, with Fugitive as the first single. Gray recorded it at The Church Studios, once the Eurythmics' studio, while unsigned. When he invited Annie Lennox to sing on Full Steam, she reprimanded him for not changing the carpets. The other duet, Kathleen, features Jolie Holland, though Gray's original choice was Dolly Parton, who was busy.

It was his first album after parting from McClune in 2007, with Neill MacColl on guitar, Rob Malone on bass and Keith Prior on drums. Gray told The Irish Times the title meant the end of one thing and the start of another. He later said that with this record he had kicked the front door down and was outside. In the Guardian, Caroline Sullivan found it beguiling listening and praised the duet with Lennox. It reached number five in Britain and charted there for five weeks.