Best known for their strong lyricism and mastered pop-rock formula, The Fray is exploring new territories far from their signature layered beats with their fourth studio album—Helios. The Denver natives welcome British techno producer Stuart Price to help them come up with diverse and experimental sound while keeping their Christian Rock roots. Named after the Greek sun god, Helios is the band’s brightest album so far; with the band steering to a more optimistic and enthusiastic feel.




The Fray is widely known for their characteristically dark songs that covers issues such as love, depression, and suicide through their chart-topping hits: How to Save A Life, Over My Head, You Found Me, and Never Say Never. But with the release of Helios, listeners can definitely say the band isn’t somewhere near dark. Yes, the band still sings about love and finding inspiration with their tracks such as Break Your Plans, Keep On Wanting, Our Last Days, Wherever This Goes, Hurricane, and Love Don’t Die but these songs are with deeper personal agendas compared to the band’s previous work, Scars and Stories.

Helios features 11 tracks—all related to the band members’ personal experiences. The change in sound is very apparent from the single Love Don’t Die which was pre-released in 2013. Although it was criticized for sounding too similar with One Republic’s style, the track indeed gave fans a refreshing feel through the song’s optimistic lyricism, strong vocals from front man Isaac Slade, and exceptional guitar licks. Abandoning the piano seemed really peculiar if you’re a fan of the band. Unexpectedly, the song started off on a happier note which is something you wouldn’t foresee from The Fray given their signature ballad and piano-laden intros.

The comparison doesn’t end there though as many critics expressed the tracks Hurricane, Give It Away, and Keep On Wanting also sounded too alike with their peers in the music industry such as U2, Matchbox 20, and Coldplay noting the similarity on style, musical structure, and rugged vibe.

The Fray’s lyricism on Helios is surprisingly straight to the point which makes these tracks sound Fray-ish. The words are simple yet give out profound emotions all at once.

In Break Your Plans, Isaac sings “I wish I had cheated / At least that’s a reason / I’d understand why you’re leaving now” which simply gives out the entire message of the song right from the first verse. Hurricane comes out a little figurative though with lines “I see the waves crashing in the harbor just beyond the break / I should run and hide with the others but I can’t look away / She’s a hurricane”. In terms of lyricism, this song stands out.

The Fray’s change in musical perspective and execution may be seen as radical but the band hasn’t called it quits with ballads just yet. The tracks Hold My Hand and Shadow and A Dancer exceptionally displays the band’s strength—ballad—something that could be said as their signature core. This may be both a good and a bad thing.

In conclusion, the musicality of The Fray’s new album Helios is nothing really special, only different and refreshing through added variety in tempo and genre. It shows how much more the band can improve in the future. It is quite a good record only that it hints hesitation to come out in full blow. The tracks all have traces of showing a different side of the band, but the overall reverts to their original core. They indeed took a step out of their comfort zone, but haven’t gone that far from the shore. Helios, though, is a well-crafted collection of songs easy to digest, something worthy enough to be on the rotation—which is very typical for The Fray songs in the past.

Strong tracks: Hurricane, Wherever This Goes, Keep On Wanting, Same As You, Hold My Hand

Rating: 3/5

Tracklist:

1. “Hold My Hand”
2. “Love Don’t Die”
3. “Give It Away”
4. “Closer to Me”
5. “Hurricane”
6. “Keep On Wanting”
7. “Our Last Days”
8. “Break Your Plans”
9. “Wherever This Goes”
10. “Shadow and a Dancer”
11. “Same As You”

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