The Fray - How To Save A Life (Mp3 Download)

Review by Tim Sendra @ allmusic.com

The Fray are among the first of what appears to be an incipient flood of bands to combine the influence of British neo-stadium acts like Coldplay and Keane, the retro-AOR bands of the mid-'90s -- chief among them Counting Crows and the Wallflowers -- and American emo-pop bands like Something Corporate and Jimmy Eat World. The Denver four-piece has the requisite piano and flag-waving choruses of the Brits, the slick sound and unfailing conservatism of the AOR bands, and the over-emoted vocals and confessional nature of the emo's. What they don't have is much originality. All the songs on their debut, How to Save a Life, sound almost exactly alike and also exactly like you would expect -- sincere, melodic, authentic, and bereft of anything surprising or exciting. This doesn't make for the kind of record that people will want to listen to over and over again but for modern rock, it isn't half-bad. The band tries hard and they never really do anything offensive. A couple of songs, like "Over My Head (Cable Car") or "Dead Wrong," might even sound good in the background of a WB drama. You just can't picture them giving anyone chills, or kids text-messaging their friends to tell them about this great new band they just heard. That kind of reaction comes from inspiration and excitement, two vital factors that How to Save a Life and the Fray themselves are sorely lacking.

Track Lists
01. She Is
02. Over My Head (Cable Car)
03. How To Save A Life
04. All At Once
05. Fall Away
06. Heaven Forbid
07. Look After You
08. Hundred
09. Vienna
10. Dead Wrong
11. Little House
12. Trust Me