The Fray - Scars and Stories

Led by Isaac Slade, Denver-based pop-rockers the Fray are still best known for feel-good numbers like “Over My Head (Cable Car)” and the ballad “How to Save a Life,” which became a staple of TV’s Grey’s Anatomy. Having an earnest frontman who sings and plays piano caused the group to be called America’s answer to Coldplay. But the Fray clearly has arena-rock ambitions of its own. Last year, the band opened for U2. Then it teamed up with Brendan O’Brien, who’s produced albums for Bruce Springsteen, one of the Fray’s heroes. “Those guys are just masters of the stadium,” says Slade, “and I wanted to figure out how to create that same kind of energy.”

He succeeded: the Fray’s third CD, Scars and Stories, boasts a bigger, more dynamic sound than any of the group’s previous recordings. The album kicks off with the robust “Heartbeat” and quickly segues into “The Fighter,” a U2-style anthem featuring Dave Welsh’s Edge-like guitar. Other tracks, like “Turn Me On” and “Here We Are,” are stirring rockers whose energy will be felt all the way to back rows of any large concert venue. And “48 to Go,” a joyous, chiming number about being on tour, is destined to have Fray fans singing along.

Life on the road is a recurring theme throughout the album, especially on songs like “Munich,” “Rainy Zurich” and “The Wind,” in which Slade likens his own traveling experience to that of a sailor lost at sea. Meanwhile, the Fray hasn’t entirely abandoned the ballad style that made them famous. Scars and Stories closes with “Be Still,” a quiet number featuring Slade alone on piano and vocals. Although the Fray is rocking out more than ever, the band’s frontman remains one of pop’s most sensitive heartthrobs.