This vinyl is out of print and out of stock. Vinyl edition Scars & Stories, pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Includes download card. On its third album, The Fray journeys across physical and emotional landscapes as it fortifies its music with a bolder production approach. Producer Brendan O'Brien pushes The Fray toward a more muscular, aggressive sound while retaining the graceful piano interludes that defined the band's earlier work. Lead singer Isaac Slade continues to project a heroic (if tormented) presence in defiantly idealistic numbers likeHeartbeat,Here We Are," andThe Fighter. He takes on a seafarer's spirit inThe Wind and delivers a compelling romantic vignette inRainy Zurich. The band's underlying Christian faith is expressed most clearly in the stately, hymn-likeBe Still. At its best, The Fray has the power to disarm the most cynical listener with a heartfelt ballad-it does that here inI Can Barely Say, a falsetto-tinged confession of need draped with dramatic orchestration. Big in sound and ambitious in scope, Scars & Stories aims for a wide audience but doesn't lose its humanity in the process. - itunes
