Music fans rejoiced as The Fray released “Helios,” their fourth studio album, featuring 11 fresh additions to the band’s already expansive catalogue of rock and pop songs.
In this most recent studio endeavor, The Fray attempted to showcase a musically diverse collection of new themes, as well as some more familiar to loyal listeners of the band.
In an interview with Radio.com’s Annie Reuter, the band attributes their rediscovered and reenergized sound to the work of a producer who is new to their team.
London producer Stuart Price took the band’s playing to an entirely new level with the introduction of different instrumentation and a newfound approach to the band’s rhythmic composition.
“He’s a DJ by night, producer by day,” The Fray’s frontman Isaac Slade told Radio.com.
Their single from the new album, “Love Don’t Die,” was released in October 2013 and delivered a taste of the band’s fresh, upbeat style that would pique the interest of any Black Keys or Coldplay fans that I know.
Other tracks like “Give It Away” and “Hurricane” are prime examples of the band showcasing its more musically-diverse side, offering healthy doses of disco, funk and some more traditional vocal ballads that would give Bruce Springsteen a run for his money.
While there is great musical diversity throughout the album, there are still tracks on the album that are heavy reminders of the band’s earlier work. Tracks like “Our Last Days” and “Wherever This Goes” wore on me and didn’t feel like they had much of anything new to offer in my discovery of the band’s current sound.
As a rock music fan that rarely listens to The Fray, I have to say I am impressed with everything their newest album has to offer. “Helios” contains tracks for every kind of music fan, young and old. The production quality of the individual songs is excellent of Price’s influence is certainly apparent in the band’s final product.