The Fray’s newest album, “Helios,” introduces fans to a new sound for the band.
The Fray is generally popular for songs such as “How to Save a Life” and “You Found Me,” which have a subtler, more toned-down mood. However, the single released before this album, “Love Don’t Die,” is way more upbeat than the band’s previous singles.
The song gives fans a general idea of what the first part of the album sounds like.
“Helios” starts out with the song “Hold My Hand.” Even though the title may make the song seem like it’s going to be soft and sweet, that’s not the case.
“Hold my Hand” begins with some music on the piano as well as vocals, but when the other instrumentals kick in, the mood of the song becomes much more energetic.
This track flows well into the next one, “Love Don’t Die,” which starts off with a steady rock beat right from the beginning. As stated before, “Love Don’t Die” is the first single released from this album and helps to ease fans into the newer rhythms of the first songs of the album before they listen to it.
Following that, “Give It Away” continues with the mood of the first two songs and also has a unique blues tone to it mixed in with fun, syncopated rhythms from both the lead and rhythm guitars.
The music matches the relaxed and somewhat carefree nature of the lyrics, which will probably make this track one of the favorites of the album.
Even though “Closer to Me” is a shorter, bit more toned-down song compared to the first three songs, it still has a hint of an upbeat nature. You may not be able to blast it in your room when you want to jam, but it’s still a good song to bob your head to.
“Hurricane” puts an interesting twist to the album with drum beats that sound similar to waves crashing. This effect matches up with the song title as well as the many weather-related metaphors made in the song.
Both “Closer to Me” and “Hurricane” are good songs, but the progression of the album might flow a little better if they were switched.
The first song on the album that begins to sound like the more downplayed version of The Fray is “Keep On Wanting.” This song sounds similar to “You Found Me,” and is definitely a crowd pleaser.
It’s a likely possibility that this track will turn into one of the band’s next single.
The album continues with this mood with “Our Last Days.” The beginning of this song can be compared to “Over My Head (Cable Car)” from the band’s first album, but the chorus proves to be very different. The lyrics are more drawn out over the vocals and provide a different feel than expected with the verses.
“Break Your Plans” drops the album to its lowest point in regards to the mood, but then the album starts to pick up again with the final few songs and ends on a strong, but sad note with “Same As You.”
Although “Helios” had a good mix of songs that rise and fall, it would have been nice if some of the more upbeat songs were mixed in closer to the end of the album and some of the more relaxed songs were placed closer to the beginning.
All in all, though, fans of The Fray will definitely enjoy “Helios.” The album has a song that almost anyone can listen to and enjoy.
KHADIJA DJELLOULI
