The Fray

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The Fray

The Fray "Scars & Stories" album

- Release date : February 2012 -

Scars & Stories is the third studio album by American alternative rock band The Fray, released on February 7, 2012. The album was recorded at the legendary Blackbird Studios in Nashville, beginning in March 2011, and concluded in July 2011. The Fray was able to hone their sound with the help of producer Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and Neil Young).

During an interview with Vevo the band revealed that they used part of the album's budget to travel and see the world before writing and recording songs for Scars and Stories. The making of Scars and Stories fostered the most evolution the band has ever experienced, both lyrically and musically. "On our first record, we didn't quite trust ourselves yet," says lead-singer Isaac Slade. "We loosened up on the second album, but there was still some element of restraint. But on this one, we just stepped up to plate and swung as hard as we could."

During a performance at the Hard Rock cafe in Boston, Massachusetts, Isaac Slade stated that the album Scars & Stories was named after a B-side that did not make it onto the third record. He went on to explain that each of the band members have been through a lot of hardships, but collectively they were able to pull through: "We've been through a lot of stuff personally, and as band we're still together, and I think we like the idea of scars you know, because they're healed you know. They are not like wounds necessarily, but they're still kind of a road map of where you been, and sometimes kinda point to where you want to go."

"Scars & Stories" album tracks and lyrics

"Scars & Stories" album reviews

Upgrading to Brendan O'Brien, the producer who came to fame via his work with Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam, the Fray have never sounded better on record than they do on their third album, Scars & Stories. It's not that they've changed their template -- they still rely on a chilly, atmospheric blend of Coldplay's balladeering and Rob Thomas' rock, tempered by a dash of the urgency of 3 Doors Down -- but O'Brien helps them articulate their ideas, giving them definition and muscle, attributes that are appealing when the songs lack distinct hooks. Certainly, this shimmering, assured pulse assists the Fray whenever they don't have a song as compelling as "How to Save a Life," and if they rely a little bit too heavily on O'Brien's incomparable skills, it is a maneuver that means Scars & Stories will satisfy most Fray fans.

*** by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide ***

After sales of its self-titled 2009 sophomore album fell far short of 2005's "How to Save a Life," the Fray pushes to "put it all back together" on its latest album, "Scars & Stories." The Denver quartet shakes things up with new producer Brendan O'Brien, and many of the dozen songs achieve the kind of meatiness that the group approached tentatively on The Fray. The troupe's stock in trade remains frontman Isaac Slade's earnest lyricism and a lush, anthemic ambience that marks similar territory to U2 and Coldplay on tracks like "The Fighter," "Run for Your Life" and "Munich." "Here We Are" and the martial-rhythmed "The Wind" are the set's hardest rockers, while "1961" gets a touch more raw. Elsewhere, "Turn Me On" mines the white-bread funk of Maroon 5, "48 to Go" offers a rootsy mainland U.S.A. travelogue, and lullaby "Be Still" closes the album with a gentle Celtic tinge. It's not a complete overhaul, but Scars & Stories pushes things perceptibly forward.

*** by Gary Graff, Billboard ***