Helios

Released in 2012, Scars & Stories saw the Fray expanding on the size and scope of their signature blend of American trad rock-meets-'90s alt-pop with the aid of Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen producer Brendan O'Brien. 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, 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. ~ James Christopher Monger