Fray CD

The follow-up to 2005's hit HOW TO SAVE A LIFE, THE FRAY is a similarly enticing blend of earnest lyrics, anthemic choruses, and catchy tunes. The Denver quartet have crafted 10 well-shaped, melodic pieces of polished alternative pop-rock, spearheaded by the first single, "You Found Me." Starting with the piano-based pop of acts like Coldplay or Snow Patrol, but adding enough guitar-based muscle and emo-tinged grit to keep from sounding like mere imitators, the Fray also feature the powerful vocals of frontman Isaac Slade, who is particularly memorable on "Where the Story Ends" and "We Build Then We Break."

The Fray's sophomore release picks up where How to Save a Life left off, reprising the same blend of piano-led ballads and midtempo pop/rock that helped establish the band in 2005. International tours and platinum-selling singles may have turned the Fray into a superstar act, but the actual songcraft remains virtually unchanged, with songs like "You Found Me" and "Enough for Now" sounding eerily similar to their predecessors. Those parallels are strengthened by producers Aaron Johnson and Mike Flynn, both of whom helmed How to Save a Life and repeat the job here to predictable effect. What's different, then, is the occasional "widening" of the Fray's sound; the rock numbers are slightly louder (culminating in a percussive, distorted breakdown during "We Build Then We Break"), and the ballads somewhat softer, with "Ungodly Hour" standing out as the sparsest of the bunch. The band seems uncomfortable with either extreme, however, either overshooting the rockers or reducing the ballads to little more than Isaac Slade's zealous vocals, which are often so garbled with angsty passion that they might as well be caricaturing the American accent. Like the rest of his bandmates, Slade is most comfortable in the middle, where the Fray comfortably churn out the album's best numbers: the melancholy, minor-keyed "Absolute"; "Syndicate" (whose guitar riff in 6/4 time is perhaps the disc's quirkiest moment); and "You Found Me." It's testament to the band's appeal that "You Found Me" became a Top Ten single before The Fray was even released, but that likely speaks to its familiarity -- this is, after all, the equivalent of How to Save a Life, Pt. 2 -- rather than any purported originality. ~ Andrew Leahey

Audio Remasterer: Bob Ludwig.

Recording information: Candyland Studio, Denver, CO; Glenwood Recording Studio, Burbank, CA; Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Swinghouse Studios, Los Angeles, CA; The Plant Studios, Sausalito, CA.

Photographers: James Minchin; Nathan Johnson.

Arranger: David Campbell .

Personnel: Zac Rae (keyboards); Dan Rothchild, Dan Lavery (bass guitar).

Audio Mixers: Ryan Gilligan; Michael Brauer; Serban Ghenea.

Billboard (p.33) - "[A] trio of songs -- the gentle 'Ungodly Hour,' the fuzzy-grooved 'We Build Then We Break' and the subtly building 'Happiness' -- bring the album to a powerful and emotionally rich close."