The Fray: “How to Save a Life”
THE CD: “How to Save a Life” (Sony/Epic)
PERFORMER: The Fray
“How to Save a Life” was a safe first move for the Fray. Released this month, the Denver-based quartet’s debut is a compilation of energized, yet soothing pop ballads about love and contemplation.
Songs like “She Is” and “Look After You” have the affectionate, semi-saccharine quality of radio hits, date-movie soundtracks and endless volumes of homemade Valentine albums.
At the same time, the Fray is something to admire. Vocalist Isaac Slade has a voice both gritty and smooth, like Beck if he had Bono’s range. Combine that with the sonorous sadness of Slade’s piano and the slightly-more-upbeat support of the other three members and the band can effectively transverse the entire realm of soft rock.
And they do. The high-octave, languid pining of songs like “Hundred” are in the same vein as Damien Rice. Yet they can garner such energy from this mellow style, one is reminded of Coldplay and the Counting Crows. The Fray even dips into more soulful pools with songs like “Over My Head,” which has the same attractive loneliness as the best of Tracy Chapman.
And thus the fatal flaw. Nearly all the songs sound like a band trying to emulate bygone hit-makers to make a good first impression. The Fray — Slade in particular — is clearly talented enough to join these acts via their own sound if they would have just dared to let us hear it.
An overly safe first move can be dangerous.
– By Morgan Kelly
