Hello there.
On to their self-titled album, The Fray.
In my opinion, I think that this is one of their best albums (so far), if not, tied with "Scars & Stories". Also, this album holds a special place in my heart because it contains the first two songs I've heard by the band, namely "You Found Me" and "Never Say Never". They made 13/14-year-old Dan think that the piano is cool, and that it does have a place in the rock genre. I guess it would be no surprise that I tried to learn how to play "Never Say Never" on the piano. Anyway, as beautiful as the song was (and still is), it was made better when the band performed and uploaded an acoustic version (yes, sans piano) on their YouTube account. It was so raw, and it felt so heartfelt that I honestly think that there is no other performance out there that can top that. I mean, his falsetto was gorgeous in the original, but in that performance, he did an alternate variation, and it became my favourite version of this song. I mean, you can never go wrong with strings, but that version just felt so damn intimate and sincere that I found myself in a puddle of my own feelings. I'll just post a link of the album version because the video was deleted. When I find it, I will definitely post it here.
Another song I must mention is "Say When". This song appeals the most to my choreographer side as I feel like the verses are rather layered instrumental wise, and that I can pick and choose or, preferably, have all the different aspects of the song be visually represented. Another great thing about this song is that it builds, and from a choreographer's point of view, it's great because it helps us immensely when it comes to planning how the piece will go, like where it should peak and when to just make bare. It is also another one of those songs where when you listen to it, you can feel the life in the song. Basically, when the song plays, I don't feel like I'm listening to song; I'm experiencing the song. This is more obvious in the bridge, when Isaac sings "Come across, you're lost and broken...", and the song slowly builds till it reaches it maximum and then the dam bursts with the last chorus. I love how at the end, it's just Isaac and the guitar, as it is like a representation of how when one's overfilled bottle of emotions finally spills and rapidly flows out, what's left is just these droplets of vulnerability/weakness of some sort that Isaac is trying to comfort/give strength to (wow that took a while). I feel like the more I talk about it, the more I'll ruin it for you guys so just have a listen, and hopefully you'll hear/feel what I'm trying to say.
First of all, Joe, how dare you. Isaac is a great singer, don't get me wrong, but sometimes Joe sings songs like this one and I would just feel too many things. Warning: What I'm about to say is entirely my interpretation and it may not have been Joe's intention. I feel like the entire song is about some argument between the protagonist and this girl, and that she gets burdened by it because she would have to stay up to settle all these old and probably new unanswered questions that have popped up in her head regarding this relationship (romantic or otherwise). The protagonist wants to help but he knows that the only way to solve this is time. This song embodies this wonderfully as there is not much lines being sung, and the silences, or rather the instrumental parts are what speaks volumes. Having the piano play the melody during the vocal break indicates how the protagonist's intentions are the same throughout and that he knows that his words would not help alleviate their current situation. I love the entire 5 minutes and 5 seconds of this thing, but if I have to narrow down which part I love the most, it would have to be the last few lines of "Her bag is now much heavier/I wish that I could carry her/But this is our ungodly hour". The lighter, thinner and more transparent accompaniment of just the piano is what I feel truly nails this feeling of helplessness of wanting to help someone so much, but knowing that it would make it worse so you have to restrain yourself from doing so. It's like Joe just resigned himself to what he knows is the only way this situation would be better. Yes, it's a much slower track than their usual stuff but please do give it a listen.
I'll work on making my thoughts more cohesive, but yes, these are just my 2 cents. I think I'll take some time off the Fray before I do another one of these. There are too many artistes I need to clear.
Till next time.
Dan out.
- Wednesday, July 01, 2015
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