God Of The Sun3 Out Of 5 Stars
If you were wondering what "Helios" is, the Ancient Greeks worshiped the dude. The Fray seek to harness that power on their fourth album, and it's a dramatic change of pace for the band. Their stock in trade before this was piano-driven adult pop, but they've pushed the pianos to the back of the stage for this album. Only the opener, "Hold My Hand," will sound familiar with The Fray via their biggest hit, "How To Save a Life." The rest vary from another Ryan Tedder insta-hit (actually, the excellent "Love Don't Die") to danceable pop ("Give It Away").
Lead singer Isaac Slade is pretty decent at making accessible soft rock tunes, and even with attempts at breaking the mold, like the drumbeat stomp of "Wherever This Goes" strain at the bit for the band to just cut loose a bit more, which is why the outside sourced "Love Don't Die" stands out so much. If Coldplay is watered down U2, then The Fray is Coldplay filtered to a pop essence. They even channel The Cure at one point, on "Closer To Me." You can tell that The Fray are more ambitious than they can actually accomplish, which makes "Helios" at least enjoyable. If middle of the road but capably produced pop (think Coldplay, Maroon 5 and OneRepublic) turns your motor, "Helios" will set your sun dial.
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