Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
The Fray has unveiled the track list for its
self-titled sophomore album, arriving Feb. 3 from Epic. Lead
single "You Found Me" has already sold 278,000 copies in three
weeks of U.S. digital release, according to Nielsen
SoundScan.
That track stemmed from crises among friends and family that
prompted singer Isaac Slade to confront the age-old question of why
bad things happen to good people. Another song, "Enough for Now,"
tackles the fallout from the death of Slade's grandfather.
The sound of "The Fray" -- produced like the debut by Epic VP of
A&R Mike Flynn and Aaron Johnson -- is "a little more extreme
than the last record," Slade tells Billboard. "The quieter stuff is
a little quieter than our last record and the rock stuff is a
little rockier. It definitely spreads the spectrum a little
bit."
The new album will be previewed with a handful of club dates early
next year, beginning Jan. 6 in the Fray's Denver hometown and
wrapping Feb. 4 in New York. The latter show will be cybercast on
the band's
Web
site.
The Fray is also playing a free outdoor show Wednesday (Dec. 17) in
Los Angeles as part of "Jimmy Kimmel Live." An extensive North
American tour is likely to begin in June.
The new album is the follow-up to 2005's "How To Save a Life,"
which has sold 2.34 million copies in the United States.
Here is the track list for "The Fray":
"Syndicate"
"Absolute"
"You Found Me"
"Say When"
"Never Say Never"
"Where the Story Ends"
"Enough for Now"
"Ungodly Hour"
"We Build Then We Break"
"Happiness"
Additional reporting by Ayala Ben-Yehuda, L.A.