web analytics

Pop Rock Nation

Author: Money Mike

  • First Listen: The Fray

    frayEvery couple of years, along comes a mega-successful pop/rock band that has catchy tunes but no discernible identity at all…think Matchbox 20 before Rob Thomas developed a personality. The most recent example of this phenomenon would have to be The Fray. On the back of two mega-successful singles, the Denver-based quartet’s debut album, How to Save a Life, came out of nowhere to sell nearly three million copies. This happened despite the fact that the band had nothing to market themselves with except for their songs-no gimmicks, no outspoken members, no hot lead singer for the chicks to fawn over. Nope, The Fray were the brown paper bag of pop/rock groups…

    …and now they’re back for round 2. Their self-titled sophomore effort follows the template set by their debut. Midtempo piano-based tunes with a bit of a rock edge, angsty lyrics, and hooks that are incredily catchy and easy to sing along with are the order of the day. You’ll hear these songs coming out of radio stations and advertising TV shows for some time to come.

    First single You Found Me is cut from the same cloth as the band’s earlier hits like Over My Head (Cable Car) and How to Save a Life, only with a stronger guitar sound. The piano isn’t as front and center, and The Fray sounds like an actual band instead of a showcase for tortured lead singer Isaac Slade. Never Say Never will definitely be a future single, with the refrain of “don’t let me go” giving the song a lighter-waving vibe as well as an immediate hook. Absolute is another winner, with a pretty falsetto chorus, while Ungodly Hour is a more spare, almost Tori Amos-like piano ballad. Slade’s fragile higher register is a good fit for this brittle song.

    The Fray trips up on account of its’ anonymity. It’s taken me three weeks of listening in order to be able to differentiate songs. Even though the album is incredibly compact (10 songs, 43 minutes), there are 3 or 4 tracks that don’t have anything to separate themselves from the pack. They’re pleasant enough to listen to, but there’s nothing unique about them, and they’re not hooky enough to stand out. Then there’s the issue of Slade’s vocals. While his voice (which occasionally sounds like it’s about to crack) definitely packs an emotional wallop, there’s only so much angst you can take. I also remember reading a review of this album that noted the fact that Slade’s vocals are often garbled. Glad to know I’m not the only person that notices that.

    There’s not a lot of experimentation to be found on The Fray, which I guess is a good and a bad thing. Good because they know what they do best, and bad because the songs have a definite similarity to one another-especially because they fall under two tempos-slow and slower. It’s actually nice to hear the band stretch out a little on the album’s final two songs. We Build Then We Break has an anthemic, thundering U2 vibe, while Happiness brings in a gospel choir for emphasis.

    At the end of the day, if you dug How to Save a Life (which was a reasonably enjoyable record), you’ll dig this album. The Fray doesn’t exactly have anything exciting going for it, but it’s dependable, radio-friendly pop, sort of like the love child of Coldplay and 3 Doors Down. Much like the band’s debut, there are a couple of standout songs as well as a couple of completely generic ones, and while I recommend it with reservations, I still think it’s a worthy addition to a pop/rock fan’s music collection.


  • Infatueighties #48: Nasty

    nasty

    “No my first name ain’t baby, it’s Janet. Miss Jackson if you’re nasty”.

    That line has become legendary in the twenty-three years since it first was popularized, but a lot of folks forget how surprising it was to hear it coming out of Baby Jackson’s mouth at the time. After releasing two albums of sugary-sweet pop/soul, Janet traveled to Minneapolis to meet up with producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, changing the course of her career forever. Jam & Lewis helped Janet come up with songs that took her far away from the fantasy world she and most of her family seemed to be living in. By adding in some hip-hop attitude and a whole lot of sass, Janet was humanized. “Nasty” remains their greatest work, even if Janet’s Jackee-esque voice is a little funny now. The producers’ keyboard work is inventive, Janet’s vocal is tough as nails, even the video is killer (see if you can spot Paula Abdul in the clip).

    Of course, now that Janet herself has turned into a Nasty Girl, I wonder how she feels about this song.

  • Infatueighties #49: Rock Box

    rockbox

    If any one song summarizes why Run-DMC will be taking their rightful place as inductees in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, “Rock Box” is it. Even if you take away Eddie Martinez’s squealing guitar histrionics, “Rock Box” just oozes rock & roll attitude-moreso than any other hip-hop record that had been made up to that point, and more than many records that have been made since!!

    In today’s super-consumerist musical world, where everyone and their momma has a clothing line or an endorsement deal, it’s refreshing to hear “Calvin Klein’s no friend of mine/Don’t want nobody’s name on my behind”-yet another example of how much hip-hop has changed over the years.

    Also worthy of props? “Rock Box” was the first hip-hop video ever played on MTV, one of many firsts Run, D and Jay racked up during that period in the Eighties when they were pretty much the face of hip-hop to most of America. The song itself still kicks ass HARD. Take a listen and judge for yourself.