"The Fray" - The Fray Album Review

            The Fray’s second studio album, The Fray, was released on February 3, 2009 and quickly made its way up the charts. Despite the varied ratings and reviews, it has since been certified gold in three countries: Australia, Canada, and the United States. Some critics believed that the album was too similar to The Fray’s first album, How to Save a Life, while others thought there was nothing wrong with their album.

            From The Fray came four singles, including a cover of Kanye West’s “Heartless”. The first single, “You Found Me” appears to be a song depicting the life of the lead singer, Isaac Slade and received positive reviews. It is a song about feeling down in one’s life and doubting God when in a time of need and let-downs: “Where were you when everything was falling apart?” The other two singles, “Syndicate” and “Never Say Never”, also performed fairly well on the charts.

            On the album, there appears to be a more personal song for Isaac Slade. “Enough For Now” seems to be a song about his mother’s childhood and relationship with her father. It is slow-paced and dramatic. Slade sings, “The century before you never could turn twenty-one. Years and years he waited, just watching for a son. For someone to go ahead and take the name he said. Years and years he waited and daughter came instead.” It seems that his grandfather wanted a son and held a grudge against his daughter because of it. He talks about his grandfather as not being able to love his daughter or even his own wife.

            Songs such as “Absolute” and “Say When” are somewhat repetitive and similar in sound. Adversely, “Ungodly Hour” and “We Build Then We Break” are very different than most songs on the album. “Ungodly Hour” is slow and contains soothing vocals. “We Build Then We Break” is haunting and the fast chorus contrasts against its slow verses. “Happiness” literally talks about happiness and the good and bad things that come with it: “Happiness feels a lot like sorrow. Let it be, you can’t make it come or go.”

            As a whole, The Fray is an enjoyable, relaxing album. There is variety in the types of songs and the lyrics. The vibe is typical of The Fray and similar to that of their first album. Slade’s vocals are honest, soothing, and provide a pleasant listening experience. I would highly recommend the album for anyone wanting to listen to softer take on contemporary rock music.

"Up On the Ridge" - Dierks Bentley Album Review

          Commercially, Dierks Bentley’s fifth studio album, Up on the Ridge, could be considered a flop. Critically, however, Bentley was praised for his new takes on bluegrass music. His album was released on June 8, 2010 and produced two singles; the title track on April 12, 2010 and “Draw Me a Map” on August 23, 2010. Each single proved to be two of the lowest charting singles Bentley has seen with “Draw Me a Map” being the lowest.

            Despite the low commercial success, the critics praise his album and applaud his many, genius collaborations. The Punch Brothers, a rising bluegrass band, appear on three of the twelve songs on the album. They, along with Del McCoury, assist Bentley on his cover of U2’s popular “Pride (In the Name of Love)”. They also appear on Bentley’s “Rovin’ Gambler” and his cover of Bob Dylan’s “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)”. Also collaborating with Bentley is country star Miranda Lambert on the track, “Bad Angel”. She provides listeners with a country style, while Alison Krauss and her background vocals throughout the album provide a bluegrass style.  While, his collaborations are good, they are not the standout songs of his album.

            The title track off the album and his song “Fallin’ for You” each contain haunting vocals, but each song presents them differently. “Up on the Ridge” talks about running away with a girl for a night of fun: “Won’t you come with me tonight as the moonlight drifts into your eyes. I just want one little kiss when we get high up on the ridge”. Bentley’s lyrics in “Fallin’ for You” talk about his inability of overcoming his feelings toward a woman. Each song is sung in a haunting way, but takes common themes of his country music background and applies them to his new take on bluegrass music.

            Other standout songs include the playful track, “Fiddlin’ Around”: “Can’t you hear the music in the wind and see our shadows on the ground? Won’t you come on down? We gonna do a little fiddling’ around”. Also standing out, is his love song, “Draw Me a Map”. He uses distinct wordplay in order to get his feelings across: “You’re my destiny and destination, so understand my desperation”.

            As a whole, Bentley’s Up on the Ridge is a unique country-bluegrass album that probably appeals more to the bluegrass audience, as his singles failed to chart highly on the country charts. Critically, it holds an amazing array of collaborations and differentiating song themes. I would recommend this album for any country-lover who is looking for a new take on country music with bluegrass inspirations.