There are two ways one must listen to The Fray’s new CD, “How to Save a Life”: First, in the background. Play it while you do the dishes or read a magazine. Listen to it first in such a way that you absorb the album’s feeling, letting the tunes dance around you and flow through the air. Then, once you have a feeling for what to expect, listen to the words, and let this music hit you right in the core like a huge wage of beautiful musical prose.
I don’t feel this often, but this CD is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. It doesn’t attempt to revolutionize or tweak a genre. It has catchy chords and musical phrases I feel like I’ve heard before. But the addition of Isaac Slade’s piano complementing his honest and bare vocals hit me so hard I instantly felt like smiling bigger than my face could allow, tears sliding down my grinning cheeks. I couldn’t help it. The Fray demonstrate how lyrics, piano, chords and a solid musical package can assemble to be one beautifully moving piece of music.
Their first single, “Over My Head” successfully captures the attention of anyone checking out today’s top 40 music. It is slightly up-tempo with a message any twentysomething can relate to: Being overwhelmed with what life presents you with. The chorus wraps you in and immediately, you’ll find yourself singing the chorus as loud as you can. “Look After You,” the album’s seventh track is the hidden gem. Paralleled only by Coldplay’s “Fix you” and David Gray’s, “This Year’s Love,” “Look After You” is the kind of song anyone can easily be moved to tears by. Everyone’s reason for weeping may be different, but this song’s power can be felt by anyone and everyone.
Some have compared Slade’s vocals to Chris Martin of Coldplay and the comparison is valid. Each has the ability to journey between almost-talking naïve vocals and joyfully smooth falsetto. Slade has a twinge of desperation in his songs, as if he needs to get his musical message out to me so badly it hurts. Listening feels like a privilege.
The kicker is I picked the CD up at HMV today for 10 dollars. I read on the band’s web site that the title track was written about the singer’s experiences as a mentor to a crack-addicted teen. Breaks my heart and fills me up. I hope you treat yourselves to them. If not, come on over, I’ll put on a pot of tea and we’ll soak up the Fray.