Sophomore Slump for The Fray

People like to dog on The Fray for a variety of reasons. For starters, their hit single "How to Save a Life" off their debut album of the same name was featured on the popular ABC drama Gray's Anatomy. In addition to selling out, the band never really had any street cred to begin with. The Fray was extremely under the radar during its first couple years of existence, and did not gain popularity until Epic Records A&R man Mike Flynn read an article on the band in a local Denver paper. They were signed soon after that, and went on tour with Ben Folds and Weezer before headlining their own shows. In other words, The Fray is so not indie.
What I loved about How to Save a Life was that it was full of fresh, infectious, piano-rock songs. Some may argue differently, but The Fray has its own distinct sound. The songs on How to Save a Life are all heavily piano based with catchy hooks, lyrics, and melodies. Most on the album are perfect radio songs. Normally I don't listen to the radio, simply because I don't always like what's popular at the moment. However, The Fray is one exception. It is incredibly hard to create an album that is both pleasing to the masses and a new, exciting sound. With How to Save a Life, the Fray accomplished this.
I was highly anticipating the the February 3rd release of The Fray's sophomore album, The Fray. Perhaps this is partially because I am now somewhat personally invested in their success; the studio in which How to Save a Life was recorded is a mere hour away from my home in Indianapolis, and a good friend of mine records with his band in the same studio. Hearing people dismiss The Fray as boring and unoriginal is almost a little insulting to me. Unfortunately, after listening to the new album, I must say that I am disappointed. The songs are not as explosive as the debut, with the exception of the first single, "You Found Me" and a few other random songs off the album. However, even "You Found Me" is a major disappointment. While the music itself is reminiscent of the previous album, the lyrics are incredibly impersonal and dull and the chorus is so repetitive that the song gets old fast. "Syndicate" is really the only song I enjoyed off the album, as it possessed a catchy melody and interesting lyrics.
While I was disappointed with this new album, I have not lost all hope for The Fray. Sophomore slumps are common, and I have faith that there will be more good things to come from the band.