Soundbite: “The Fray”
By Emily Baraff
Feb. 10, 2009 12:21 a.m.
Feeling especially introspective on your Tuesday morning stroll to class on a brisk February morning? Scrolling through your iPod only to be disheartened yet again at the sight of the same old “Top 25 Most Played” staring you bluntly in the face?
The Fray’s self-titled sophomore album pulsating through your earbuds might be just what the doctor ordered.
With a new album in stores, the soft-rock foursome is back for more with an LP chock-full of “Garden State”-esque, piano-inspired “sensitive guy” music.
The group loyally caters to the musical palate of the fan base established by the group’s debut album, “How to Save a Life.”
One can’t deny the emotional appeal of The Fray’s mellow, acoustic guitar coupled with Isaac Slade’s tender, breathy voice.
He croons the ethereal lyrics, “I found God on the corner of First and Amistad where the West was all but won, all alone smoking His last cigarette” on the album’s first single, “You Found Me.”
Slade’s rich vocals are no doubt soothing, and the themes of enduring tough times, coping with loss and declaring love in his lyrics mesh elegantly with the album’s delicate, steady melodies.
This 10-track album is very obviously a product of The Fray that we all know ““ but whether this is good or bad depends on what you are looking for as a listener.
If you’re flying solo on a long road trip or making the arduous trek from the Hill to North or South Campus, the album is a perfect companion for some quiet reflection.
The first track, “Syndicate,” has the album off and running with a resonating piano intro and a feel-good chorus that chants, “Baby close your eyes, don’t open till the morning light” over a steady, rhythmic guitar riff.
The Fray embodies the intriguing musical ability to address emotionally taxing issues without plummeting the listener into a state of depressed reflection.
It instead creates a fluid movement of sound through periodic up-tempo drum sections, passionate, airy vocals and the group’s trademark piano runs.
Though this genre of emotional rock can be utter bliss when paired with the right mood and state of mind, the limits of the group’s musical flexibility are blatantly apparent after listening to a second album of tracks that all generally have the same sound and feel.
Though this may be a good sound and feel, its lack of variation from track to track and from “How to Save a Life” as a whole leaves the progressive listener begging for more.
The repeated formula of slow, pensive intros infused with piano and vocals is followed by quicker bridge and chorus sections and peppered with occasional generic-sounding lyrics about love and angst, which can get a little old after a while.
However, you can’t deny the catchy melody and piano-guitar interplay of “Where the Story Ends,” or the welcome divergence from a sometimes overly laid-back atmosphere found in the fast-paced, distorted guitar and drum breaks of “We Build Then We Break.”
But for those craving an album that evolves emotionally and musically from beginning to end, disappointment is an almost unavoidable certainty.
Regardless, with the winter months rolling in with full force, it’s worth clearing some space under the “soft acoustic pop-rock” genre in your iPod to make way for some intense relaxation courtesy of these masters of tranquility.
When recognized as a genre tailored to a particular frame of mind, The Fray’s second album can be appreciated for its potential to soothe through serenade.
A word to the wise and music-savvy: If you can’t rock out, don’t panic ““ just chill.
““ Emily Baraff
E-mail Baraff at [email protected].
