Fresh out of the Box..

The Fray have just released their second self-titled EP "The Fray", and they're nothing if not consistent. "How to Save a Life" and "Over My Head (Cable Car)", the two biggest singles from their first album (How to Save a Life) are pretty good indicators of the sounds of the new album. Piano heavy ballads and mid-tempos, coupled with contemplative and at times overly dark lyrics are once again found all over the record. However, it's not a bad thing, because Issac Slade has the perfect voice for these types of records and they have mastered what sounds work, and what sounds don't. Lyrically The Fray is still on a strong level, but I think a band like them would be perfect tackling more varied subject matter in their songs.

Quick Rundown of Standout tracks:
"You Found Me"- Lead single. Wonderful production, strong lyrics. Great vocals 4/5
"Syndicate"- A mid-tempo ballad, which is more unusual for the band. Production is decent, however it's missing some power which would make this easily one of their best tracks. It's almost anti-climatic. Worth the download. 4/5
"Happiness"- I was surprised by the sound of this song. More guitar, less piano. There should've been more tracks like this on the album to make it thoroughly versatile, but this is definitely an interesting track. It's raw and bare sounding, which is a perfect compliment to Slade's vocals. 5/5
"Say When"- The best mid-tempo song on the album. The vocal structure and melody is very climatic and breaks into a powerful, flowing chorus. Production and vocals are very good.

Overall, the album is another solid effort from The Fray and while their sound hasn't radically changed, they have stuck with the format that first found them chart success and have put out another great record. Hopefully in the future they will begin to evolve their sound so they can avoid the bottomless pit of contemporary rock bands with no new tricks up their sleeves.

Here's an exclusive Yahoo! Music performance of "Never Say Never" off of the new album



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