Helios
| The Fray
Helios
Helios is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band the Fray. It was released on February 25, 2014 by Epic Records. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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The Lantern
The Fray’s newest album “Helios” is bubbly and, well, simply put, full of life.
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Sputnik Music
Harmless to the point of painful mediocrity.
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Pop Matters
What Helios does prove quite admirably is that they still have a knack for turning that quality into uplifting not-quite-Coldplay pop rock. This quality is sharpened throughout with just a bit of edge to keep things from descending into schmaltz.
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The Online Clarion
The one word that describes “Helios is definitely variety. It seems as though The Fray decided to try a bit of everything to see what would stick. Their most popular songs to this point have been less upbeat and maybe a style change was just what the doctor ordered.
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Pop Goes the Charts
Helios proves that The Fray can still offer up some worthy artistic ambrosia to the masses.
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Stony Brook Independent
If you’re ready to sweep someone off their feet this spring, you’re in luck because The Fray’s fourth album, “Helios,” epitomizes the journey of falling in love.
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Spectrum Pulse
I'm giving this record a 5/10 and only a recommendation if you find the songwriting or instrumentation emotionally compelling in some broad way. Otherwise, do what everyone did and put The Fray out of your mind.
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All Music
They sound like the work of a band, and not a band working way too hard to sound relevant.
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Music Unlabeled
Helios is a great album with a lot to offer.
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The Hoya
“Helios,” reveals an effort towards experimentation that breaks away from its predecessors. Although several songs offer a new variety of sound that The Fray has not tried before, they fall short of success. Instead, the songs closest to the band’s original style are the ones with the most potential.
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KSSU News
Overall, I would recommend Helios. This album contains a combination of energy and upbeat tones, along with emotional piano ballads that allow the band to stay true to their original roots.
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Alternative Addiction
This album is a different record from The Fray and one we haven't heard them make before. It's something they needed to do too.
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Montreal Gazette
At the end of the day, the problem is baked in the DNA: they’re lightweights with middleweight pretensions.
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Nouse
Though the sound is at points repetitive, it has everything the recipe to satisfy the adoring teenage fan girl could need. The Fray have achieved a successfully popular boy-band sound, that is sure to remain in demand for a long time in the future.
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Puluche
Helios is an overall good move for The Fray. It won’t stand out in history as their shining opus, but they took a leap towards pop and survived.
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303 Magazine
Some bands taper into bland obscurity by their fourth album, but Helios isn’t afraid to try something a little new, proving that (like love) The Fray “don’t die.”
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Highlander News
Despite being faced with the odds of meeting their past levels of success, “Helios” not only lives up to the excellence of previous albums, but surpasses them.
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Mind Equals Blown
I don’t know about you, but I hope this new upbeat sound is here to stay.
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The Ithican
Besides for a few songs like “Break Your Plans,” the album’s tracks do not demonstrate any of the brilliant talents or emotionally striking vocals that this Grammy-nominated group usually exhibits.
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Listen Here Reviews
The band needs to do something soon when it comes to trying out different sounds and directions. Their career may soon be over, as their fans get another sour album and their critics throw up their hands and walk away.
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34th Street
11 pop rock numbers with a catchy rhythm that complement emotional lyrics. Isaac Slade, on vocals and piano, brings us back to the powerful themes of love and death.
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Pueblo Pulp
One listen through the album, it might not be completely exciting, but it’s an album that gets better the second time through.
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Fortitude Magazine
A solid album of such a massive mix of clever transitions. The Fray have still got it.
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The Know
When their personal and professional lives are going well, the only result could be a happy record, despite their reservations.
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CS Independent
Sure, this is mainstream pop, but for once the Fray have kicked off their collective shoes for a fun day in the sun, with scarcely a weak track to be found
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Aus Pop
Usually we don’t like it when bands mimics others artists too much, in the process forgetting their own sound, but in this case it’s far preferable than a whole album of The Fray-by-numbers.
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Broomfield Enterprise
And although frontman Isaac Slade is still prone to asking Big Questions, there's a newfound lightheartedness here, too, which should make the Greek god of the sun, the album's namesake, happy.
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Player FM
Music B+ Lyrics B Production B+ Overall B+
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Daily Bruin
Creating a harder rock sound while simultaneously sticking to the group’s softer, melancholy roots. The result: a satisfying and contemplative blend of calm and chaotic sounds, which gives The Fray a much wished for dimension.
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The Giggs
It pains me to write this review because I really do like The Fray, but I found Helios disappointing. The main reason this album is such a letdown is the loss of the sheer quality The Fray normally brings to the table.
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University of Miami
A great listen, worth buying, the kind of album you can easily listen to all the way through without skipping any tracks.
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Reflector
Each track, no matter whether it steps out of its normalcy, works well with the band and proves that The Fray is still capable of making one great album.
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Whitney Update
They were really exploring with their music with this one. They had few songs that seemed to be moving toward more of a pop or electric feel instead of their normal alternative ballad feel. Overall they did a great job with this album.
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Kaneland Krier
So while this album may seem to have brushed away their rising fame, no one can predict what to expect from this American alternative rock band. The warm embrace of Helios may still be wrapping around the country.
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Oracle Newspaper
Each song brought you into a new mood. There was no repetition and every track brought a new surprise, which is hard to find these days. The album is truly great.
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CCM Magazine
Though the group’s signature piano pop surfaces on occasion, there seems to be a greater gravitation toward gang-styled choruses and massive electronic beats.
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SFL on Stage
. It is these new sounds that give The Fray incredible staying power. It isn’t a new concept that bands look to change up their sound and reinvent themselves. The Fray has kept their depth to lyrical storytelling and emotional undertones.
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The State Times
The ultimate lack of consistency of the songs left me thinking that The Fray has developed an identity disorder that they need to dig themselves out of.
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She Knows
It’s the entire production from the band as a whole that will have your heart lusting along with your ears.
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Journal Sentinel
The piano ballad-loving band brings it big time on the faster-paced "Helios" without sacrificing the heart-on-the-sleeve sentiment that earned the band its fans in the first place.
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McGill Tribune
While the faint electronic influence is present, and the band have clearly developed their sound into Five For Fighting territory, it is very much a typical Fray record.
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Cross Rhythms
Their use of piano as lead instrument has led to comparisons with English piano-driven bands such as Coldplay and Keane and on this set you can also detect the influence of Counting Crows and U2. All in all is a fine piece of work.
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The Review
Does not stray too far from the band’s previous, typical emotive tracks, although, it has moments of seeming like they tried to take risks and be edgier than in the past.
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Ultimate Guitar
As far as pop albums go, this album is one of the best I've heard in a long time. The ability of The Fray to synthesize different genres and vibes yet still maintain a catchy, boy band, party-like atmosphere...
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Slacker
For 2014's Helios, the band enlisted help from Stuart Price (the Killers, Madonna), and his electronic flourishes serve as the driving force behind their fourth long-player. Helios opens with "Hold My Hand," a straight-up anthem that pairs a safe, circular, entirely familiar chord progression with a melody that returns the favor.
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The Spud
The Fray didn’t provide anything groundbreaking, but what they did do, however, was put forth an album that reminds us of their impressive talents and gives us a great sign of what is still yet to come from the still young band.
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Channel 24
Our favourite American pop rockers are back with their fourth album. Their last album was a great effort by the band but the expectation is that this one will have a little more magic to grab those of us who aren’t already fans of the band. Although it’s a good effort that will stay the full course, it definitely doesn’t have the magic to “save a life”.
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Buff Zone
Teaming with British techno producer Stuart Price has helped bring a new and more aggressive spark to the quartet's sound, evidenced by the charged “Closer to Me,” the downright funky “Give It Away” and “Wherever This Goes,” a showcase for the group's vocal harmonies.
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Nicholas Jennings
The Denver quartet’s fourth album is far cheerier than the last. The newfound joy energizes every track, especially the irrepressible “Love Don’t Die.”
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Crosswalk
With less angst and more exploration, The Fray should continue to grow.
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Enterprise News
A showcase for the group's vocal harmonies. And although frontman Isaac Slade is still prone to asking Big Questions, there's a newfound lightheartedness here, too, which should make the Greek god of the sun, the album's namesake, happy.
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FYE
Helios opens with "Hold My Hand," a straight-up anthem that pairs a safe, circular, entirely familiar chord progression with a melody that returns the favor, before unleashing the album's first single, "Love Don't Die," a digitized boot-stomper that leans hard on the Kings of Leon/Black Keys side of the Fray spectrum.
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It Pop
We do not know if "Helios" will even raise them like a phoenix, with its wings flaring the heat of helium, but we guarantee to be well satisfied just by having it released and available for our audition, as it is an album and so much!
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The Know
The Fray find happiness in life, but vulnerability on “Helios”
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SRC Vinyl
A fierce step up from the past while staying true to the band’s signature sound.
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Star 2
The band strikes music gold with Hold My Hand, its strongest work in the album, capturing the raw, desperate cry of a man afraid of facing his demons.
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