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The Fray (album)

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Untitled

The Fray is the second full-length studio album from Denver-based band The Fray. This self-titled album released on February 3, 2009 in the United States.

Album information

The band finished recording their self-titled second album at the end of July 2008 for a February 3, 2009 release. The album was produced by Aaron Johnson and Mike Flynn, the same production duo from the band's debut album.[1] The Fray filmed a music video in Chicago, for their first single, "You Found Me," directed by Josh Forbes, and it debuted on the VH1 website on December 9, 2008. On November 21, 2008 the album was made available for pre-order in standard, vinyl and deluxe versions. The deluxe version contains the CD in a Digipack case, a bonus DVD, an extended booklet and a set of postcards. The deluxe version of the album was only available for order in the United States.[2] The standard edition of the album is available for order in numerous music and entertainment retailers in the US, UK and Australia. A documentary, titled Fair Fight,[3] will be sold with the first 300,000 copies of the second album.[4] The Fray debuted their new single "You Found Me" on November 20, during a commercial break of the show Grey's Anatomy. It was a one-minute promo with scenes from the upcoming season of ABC's Lost, and is available for purchase on iTunes. The band performed the song live at the 2008 American Music Awards on November 23, and have already shot acoustic video performances of the songs from the second album.[5][6] The Fray was also scheduled to perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live on December 17, 2008,[7] Good Morning America, as well as a small-venue tour to preview the new album in the beginning of January, 2009.[8]

Reception

Overall, reviews range between very positive and very negative, being mainly negative. Rolling Stone stated that the album is "nothing new."[9] Allmusic echoes this saying that the "songcraft remains virtually unchanged" stating that the album lacks any "purported originality".[10] An Entertainment Weekly review stated, "The Fray is all blah, all the time: more minor-key melodies, more dreary tempos, more of singer-pianist Isaac Slade's spiceless sore-throat croon."[11] Although there have been quite a few very positive reviews too. AbsolutePunk, which critisized other reviews, stated, "For what it's worth, the Denver quintet has released a charming, appealing record that would be far more praiseworthy if it didn't sound so much like its predecessor...it may be an album a lot like its predecessor, but that isn't exactly a bad thing."[12] Uncut gave the album a very positive review, stating the album was "Not only a radio-friendly unit-shifter, but also a bona fide guilty pleasure." Billboard also gave a similarly very positive review.

Despite the reviews, The Fray still managed to debut at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 selling 179,000 copies, but dropped to number 4 the next week only selling 75,000 copies.[13][14] As of March 4, 2009, the album has sold 336,952 copies in the U.S. The single "You Found Me" hit number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard's Hot Adult Top 40. [15] Also, songs "Absolute", "Never Say Never" and "Syndicate" got 70th, 103rd, and 109th respectively, merely being downloaded enough on iTunes and other music services to chart.

Track listing

All tracks by Isaac Slade and Joe King except where stated

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart 3[17]
Canadian Albums Chart 2[18]
Irish Albums Chart 13[19]
UK Albums Chart 8[20]
U.S. Billboard 200 1[21]
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums 1[22]

References

  1. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i418dddc577c320a4d9521eee81bef69d
  2. ^ http://fray.skyroo.com/se/view/music/index.html?utm_medium=epic-ad&utm_source=fray&utm_campaign=epic-ad%7Cfray%7Cbanner
  3. ^ http://rodblackhurst.blogspot.com/2008/11/assorted-documentary-trivia.html
  4. ^ http://www.rodblackhurst.com/main.html
  5. ^ http://www.videostatic.com/vs/epic/index.html
  6. ^ http://www.rodblackhurst.com/main.html
  7. ^ http://www.1iota.com/events,3965,Jimmy-Kimmel-Live-THE-FRAY-outdoor-mini-concert.html
  8. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003891229
  9. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thefray/albums/album/25463415/review/25524327/the_fray
  10. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3cfoxztkldde~T0
  11. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20253891,00.html
  12. ^ http://absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=889052
  13. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003940451
  14. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/swift-back-to-no-1-as-plant-krauss-coldplay-1003942353.story
  15. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=665225&model.vnuAlbumId=1200398
  16. ^ http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=685212
  17. ^ http://ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display_album.asp?chart=1G50
  18. ^ http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html
  19. ^ http://acharts.us/ireland_albums_top_75
  20. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/albums.shtml
  21. ^ The Fray Topples Springsteen On Billboard 200
  22. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?g=Albums&f=Top+Rock+Albums
Preceded by Billboard 200 number-one album
February 21, 2009 		Succeeded by
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