Simply taking on the biased perspective of a musician, and a music lover, I can't help but say that there's something about The Fray that continues to resonate with me, while I feel the intrinsic need to dismiss it. Holistically, it is far from being anything new (particularly the chords, the song structures and the polite/audience friendly depth to their lyrics), in the grand scheme of things, there are thousands of unknown bands who restir the piano-pop-rock game with a different flavour that is beyond the capacity of The Fray. But that being said, there's still something about this album that makes it a good listen.

While it doesn't offer a poetic and instrumental depth, what if offers is an experience that as someone else gracefully put it, will help a tired soul get back to a state of ease. The days that everything go wrong, or that the weight of the world feels like it's too much to bear, are the catalysts needed to make this album pertinent and relevant, and well, listenable. The emotions expressed reflect the bad things that have happened to the members in a quasi-nondescript way, and interestingly, hearing the same woes from another voice greatly assists in calming one's soul for several hours. (However, listening to it on a heavy rotation would no doubt cause nausea...)

Guaranteed The Fray will not be receiving much critical acclaim, nor is it even realistic to think they will be a name that will stay around for long. But hey, it's a no strings attached listening experience that's good now and then.


(And pardon if this is rude - I'll remove it, if asked - but did anyone else mistakenly think they sung "how to beat your wife" instead of "how to save a life"? Made me worried at first, but I'm glad I was wrong.)