With this in mind, a look at the self-named album, “The Fray,” warrants a comparison with the first album, “How to Save a Life.” Listening to the first two songs, “Syndicate” and “Absolute,” gives a good vibe; The Fray mixed in some electric guitar with distortion and overdrive while preserving the acoustic roots of the band.
The third song and the single of the album, “You Found Me,” shows a more acoustic emphasis, with an electric guitar as second guitar. Like “How to Save a Life,” the song is meant to convey singer/pianist Isaac Slade’s emotion and create a powerful single that provides energy for the album. However, it lacks the passion of “How to Save a Life,” making it merely an average Fray song rather than the driving force of the album. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good song; it’s just not single material.
The rest of the album moves along just as the previous album did. The piano chords, the minor key tonalities, and Slade’s stuffed-nose voice get repetitive after a while. By the time the song “Enough for Now” came along, I was saying “Enough with the piano chords now.” Individual songs between albums show similarities, too. The first song of each album begins with piano chords with drums and an electric background (“Syndicate” and “She Is”). Both albums have songs with drum intros that fade into piano chords (“Ungodly Hour” and “Over My Head (Cable Car)”). And, my personal favorite, each album has a song that begins with piano chords (“Enough for Now” and “Hundred”).
The end of the album does little to make up for the rest. “We Build Then We Break” uses synthesizer to give a unique feel when compared to the rest of the album, but that also just means that the song would fit better in a different setting. However, we see the reason for this on the next song, the last of the album, “Happiness.” “We Build Then We Break” transitions into the smoother acoustic feel of “Happiness,” delivering a sense of calm after the storm.
Overall, the album is average, featuring the same types of songs that were heard in “How to Save a Life.” When I listened to “Syndicate” and “Absolute,” I had hoped that the balance of electric and acoustic would prevail throughout, something that dropped off in “How to Save a Life.” Unfortunately, just like its predecessor, “The Fray” moves into a dreary mood that the end is unable to save. The songs themselves are fine, even good. The Fray simply missed the memo that they were making a different album.