At a time when Indie music is gaining increasing popularity on the back of television shows like The O.C. comes
The Fray. The Fray is a Denver-based quartet who have made a big impression on the indie scene on America and now look set to move beyond its boundaries.
The group was formed by Isaac Slade (vocals, pianio) and Joe King (guitar, vocals) with drummer Ben Wysocki and guitarist Dave Welsh soon joining the line-up. Early in its career, The Fray won Best New Band honours from Denver's Westword magazine and in 2004 the band signed a deal with Epic Records.
The Fray have a very strong following in America, based off their grassroots beginnings which has included lots of gigging an internet activity. The first single from the album "Over My Head (Cable Car)" climbed to the top 10 on the Billboard singles chart, has been certified platinum, and was streamed more than a million times on MySpace in just one month.
Indeed, MySpace has been good to the band: they've been streamed over 16 million times, they have had more than 5 million views and close to 300,000 friends on the networking site. The set of songs on HOW TO SAVE A LIFE reveal an ability to write songs that are intimate and emotional.
HOW TO SAVE A LIFE was inspired by Slade's experience as a mentor to a crack addicted teen. The song has been used in the television show Grey's Anatomy. In fact The Fray is one of the most licensed bands od 2006 in the USA with their music being featured on Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy, What About Brian, NCIS, One Tree Hill and Bones as well as in HBO's summer promos.
Already The Fray's music is spreading around the world. In Australia "Over My Head (Cable Car)" reached number one on the national radio charts. In addition to HOW TO SAVE A LIFE is earning strong reviews. As Rolling Stonwe said: "The debut from this Denver quartet blends piano-based Brit-pop swooning and scryffy alt-rock melancholia, as if that Keane guy were backed by Counting Crows."
There's no doubt that The Fray's earnest and melodic songs will strike a chord with music fans here too...