The Fray has set the bar again when it comes to the Pop music genre with their new album, Scars and Stories. This album seems to be a bit different from others though. The titles on this album include their hit single, Heartbeat, as well as others such as Rainy Zurich and The Wind.

When both of their previous albums are taken into consideration, more could have been expected from Scars and Stories as both their self-titled album and How To Save a Life had at least two or three hit singles. Scars and Stories, however, has had only one, its promotional single being Heartbeat. This song, being the most mainstream-sounding of the record, has yet to be preceded by another, giving little hope for this album to continue in the success their freshman and sophomore albums began seven years ago.

The usually piano-driven band from Denver, Colorado is definitely not the group they were when they released their debut album, How To Save a Life. In fact, it seems as if they have chosen a more guitar-based sound than previous albums and singles with most of their lead riffs and melodies coming from guitarists Joseph King and Dave Welsh.

While there are sure to be stories to the scars displayed on this album, some of the messages the songs promote such as Turn Me On have yet to be discovered. As the emotional intensity found on such tracks as Never Say Never continues through others like The Fighter and The Wind, it’s evident the Fray has started to experiment with new techniques musically.

The most apparent of this is the bonus track, Ready or Not, a cover by the 1970s band, The Fugees. While this song has left many wondering what the band was trying to accomplish by writing it, there are still other great songs on the album. Among the great songs, there are also a few that could swing either way in terms of listenability. I Can Barely Say, being full of engaging melodies and much more falsetto from vocalist, Isaac Slade, than many of the Fray’s listeners are accustomed to, this song could be anyone’s most or least favorite of the album easily.

All in all, this wasn’t bad album by any means considering the expectations for the band. Although they did try a few new things musically that didn’t seem to pan out for the very best, the Fray will still be the Top 40 band that they have been in the past.