The Fray's "Scars & Stories"
“Scars & Stories,” The Fray (Epic)
Denver quartet The Fray is a good band, if not a great one, and its new “Scars & Stories” is a good release, if not a great one.
The group plugs along on its third album in an effort to build on the success of its double-platinum debut and Grammy-nominated sophomore release. And “Scars & Stories” feels like a product — readily digestible corporate rock that’s easy on the ears and unchallenging.
It may lack in personality, but it has hooks and energy and the kinds of messages most embraced by the mainstream — love, lust and first single “Heartbeat’s” uplifting call for the coming together of humankind.
In the moment it feels nice, even if it will be forgotten as soon as the last note fades.
The Fray’s sound is broad rock, noisy and adaptable to arenas, though not without the requisite poignant moments.
Lead vocalist Isaac Slade has a flexible delivery, capable of sweet notes as well as pointedly nasal ones to let us know when he means business. He also brings piano to the fold, which is a tad unconventional for the genre, and The Fray skirts blandness by incorporating the essence of everything from U2 to grunge.
Highlights are carefully planted throughout “Scars & Stories.” The familiar infectiousness of “Heartbeat” (“Let me in, let me in”) launches the release. Later come arcing lead vocals and bright harmonies on “1961,” later still come the chunky beat and reverberating electricity of “Here We Are,” and the solemn, liturgical-feeling ballad “Be Still” brings “Scars & Stories” to a powerful close.
The band’s fusion of jangle and drone is never less than serviceable, and Slade’s voice is the only marked downfall, particularly when he attempts to reconcile his bracing whine and mellifluous singing on the same song.
Ultimately “Scars & Stories” is too derivative to fulfill, but there are worse ways to pass the time.
Rating (five possible): 3
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