The Fray - Helios (2014) [FLAC]

  Genre: Pop/Rock
  Style: Indie
  Source: CD (log + cue)
  Codec: FLAC
  Bitrate: ~ 1,000 kbps
  Bit Depth: 16
  Sampling Rate: 44.1 KHz

  01 Hold My Hand 
  02 Love Don't Die 
  03 Give It Away 
  04 Closer to Me
  05 Hurricane 
  06 Keep On Wanting 
  07 Our Last Days 
  08 Break Your Plans 
  09 Wherever This Goes 
  10 Shadow and a Dancer 
  11 Same As You 

  By pitching their music somewhere between the arena-friendly style of U2 and the mature pop/rock of bands like Maroon 5 and Counting Crows, the Fray rose to commercial prominence with their 2005 debut, How to Save a Life. The Denver-based band had formed three years prior, when former schoolmates Isaac Slade (vocals, piano) and Joe King (guitar, vocals) unexpectedly bumped into each other at a local music store. The pair began a series of two-man jam sessions and soon expanded their lineup with two of Slade's former bandmates, drummer Ben Wysocki and guitarist David Welsh. Slade's younger brother, Caleb, also joined the band for a stint but was ultimately asked to leave; the resulting rift between the two siblings would later inspire the band's first hit single, "Over My Head (Cable Car)." After issuing the Movement EP in 2002, the quartet gained the support of Denver's KTCL radio station with a follow-up release, 2003's Reason EP. As the Fray's airplay increased alongside their local profile (Westword, a Denver alternative weekly publication, deemed them Best New Band in 2004), they began attracting attention from Epic Records. The label ultimately signed the band in December 2004, and the Fray toured alongside Weezer and Ben Folds the following summer.