There are different moments that require certain types of music, at least that’s how it goes in my life. When I’m angry I listen to either hard core music that will infuriate me further, or calming music that will make me see the sense left in life. If I’m sad there’s always that slow soft music that pushes the feeling into near depression and self hatred. Then I have my happier times where I just want to scream lyrics of anything until my throat bleeds or my neighbors call the police about a disturbance in my house. The worst moods for me are the kind that music just doesn’t factor in and I’m left alone to conquer the world of teenage thoughts.

Along with all of the emotions and situations that call for certain tunes, sometimes you have to factor in the opinions of other people around you. I find this happens to me often times in a vehicle. My little sister has no taste and prefers Kidz Bop, while my mom wants some praise and worship junk that acts as some sort of sleeping potion for me, and the whole time I am just hoping that I can find a way to sneak Simon and Garfunkel into the disc player without either of them hearing. The issue is exhausting at times and I sometimes hit the verge of just rolling out of the car. However, this thought may cease to pass my mind as I have resolved this daily dilemma.

The solution came to me in the form of The Fray’s new album Helios. It’s combination of upbeat melodies mixed with the band’s lead singer Issac Slade’s generic tones makes for the perfect communal listen. The album features their popular single “Love Don’t Die” along with a dozen others that are similar in sound and message.

The overall melodies aren’t very different from the band’s previous releases. With an alternative rock feel and lyrics featuring love and experiences, some may say that the entire album could flow together as a single song without any problems with keys or tempos.

The band didn’t out do themselves or try to jump outside of the box, but rather stuck to their normal tones. As a fan of The Fray, I appreciated the new album but was somewhat disappointed with the product for two main reasons.

First, I could hardly distinguish the song’s from those of other popular artists such as Coldplay or The Killers. Although their lyrics aren’t identical, they communicate horribly alike messages. That, added to their unoriginal tone quality and backup synthesized piano and bass tones, just kind of bores me.

The second reason my expectations were deflated on this album was due to the fact that I have a feeling that The Fray could be so much better than what they let on. It seems to me that they have found their home in musical terms and are sticking there with no adventuring or traveling for them. Slade’s voice is just worth so much more than hiding in a comfort zone, as is the potential of the instrumentalists.

All in all, the songs were pleasing but monotonous. If I had to pick a mood to listen to it,  there most likely wouldn’t be one and it would probably be categorized as something to put on as background music in a conversation or to shut my family up in the car. If one enjoys the band’s earlier music, then they shouldn’t miss out on this almost homologous new album. Hopefully it grasps your attention longer than mine, but I would advise you to look it up on YouTube before spending money on it. It’s not something I would listen to for my personal pleasure, but it works as a spectacular crowd pleaser or humdrum to bounce your head to instead of talking to people.