Wikipedia

Helios(album)

For another album with the title, seePhillip Boa.

Heliosis the fourth studio album by Americanrockbandthe Fray.It was released on February 25, 2014 byEpic Records.[1]

Helios
Studio albumby
The Fray
ReleasedFebruary 25, 2014(2014-02-25)
RecordedJune–Fall 2013
Genre
Length42:19
LabelEpic
Producer
The Fraychronology
Scars & Stories
(2012) 		Helios
(2014) 		Through the Years: The Best of the Fray
(2016)
SinglesfromHelios
  1. "Love Don't Die"
    Released: October 15, 2013
  2. "Hurricane"
    Released: January 14, 2014[citation needed]
  3. "Break Your Plans"
    Released: May 9, 2014

Background and release

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The Fray's third album,Scars and Stories,was released in February 2012. In an October 2012 interview withRolling Stonemagazine, frontmanIsaac Sladesaid that the band would be starting work on their fourth album in 2013, aiming to release it around Christmas 2013.[2]On June 4, 2013, the band announced that they had begun recording their fourth album.[3]The album was made available forpre-orderoniTuneson November 25, 2013,[4]and was scheduled to be released on January 14, 2014,[5]However, the release date had been pushed back and the album premiered on February 25, 2014.[6]

This was the band's final studio album with Isaac Slade before he announced his departure in March 14, 2022.

Singles

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The album'slead single"Love Don't Die"was released on October 21, 2013.[7]It was released to radio on October 22, 2013.[1]On May 9, 2014, the band announced on their Twitter page that the second single of the album is "Break Your Plans".[8]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
CCM Magazine[10]
PopMatters[11]

Upon its release,Heliosreceived generally mixed reviews from music critics. Kevin Catchpole fromPopMattersgave the album six out of ten discs, commenting that "the disappointing thing is how slight moments of innovation appear for fleeting seconds only, then disappear into the ether. It suggests a band that is capable of so much more, if only it wanted to try."[11]Andy Argyrakis ofCCM Magazinerated the album three stars out of five, remarking how the release contains "plenty of uplifting and contemplative lyrics", yet their "signature piano pop surfaces on occasion, there seems to be a gravitation toward gang-styled choruses and massive electronic beats, which sometimes succeed, but periodically appear too derivative of today's top 40."[10]

James Christopher Monger fromAllmusicgave the album two-and-a-half out of five stars, indicating how that "Heliosbegins innocuously enough with 'Hold My Hand,' a straight-up, anthem generator-spawned arm-waver that pairs a safe, circular, entirely familiar chord progression with a melody that returns the favor (a description that applies to most if not all of the ten songs that follow), before unleashing the album's first single, 'Love Don't Die,' a digitized boot-stomper that leans hard on theKings of Leon/Black Keysside of the Fray spectrum. Flirtations with disco ('Give It Away') and pureKillers-cloned electro-pop ('Hurricane') follow, but the Fray never sound as comfortable as they do when they're dishing out relatively generic yet undeniably impassioned slabs ofSpringsteen,Train,Goo Goo Dolls,andColdplay-inspired, open-highway treacle like 'Our Last Days' and 'Wherever This Goes'. "[9]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hold My Hand"
3:41
2."Love Don't Die"
3:03
3."Give It Away"
  • The Fray
  • busbee
3:21
4."Closer to Me"
2:47
5."Hurricane"
3:48
6."Keep On Wanting"
4:41
7."Our Last Days"
  • The Fray
  • busbee
3:39
8."Break Your Plans"
3:47
9."Wherever This Goes"
  • The Fray
  • Thiessen
3:38
10."Shadow and a Dancer"
  • The Fray
  • Thiessen
4:48
11."Same as You"
5:06
Japanese bonus tracks[12]
No.TitleLength
12."Winter Sun"3:04
13."500,000 Acres"3:18

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 21
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 42
Belgian Albums (UltratopFlanders)[15] 200
Belgian Albums (UltratopWallonia)[16] 139
Canadian Albums(Billboard)[17] 11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 43
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[19] 126
South Korean Albums (Circle)[20] 83
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[21] 79
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 79
UK Albums(OCC)[23] 51
USBillboard200[24] 8
USTop Rock Albums(Billboard)[25] 2

References

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  1. ^abThe Fray Announce 'Helios' for January 14; Stream "Love Don't Die"ArchivedDecember 3, 2013, at theWayback Machine,Direct Current Music,October 22, 2013
  2. ^Ross, Matt (October 8, 2012)."The Fray Set to Start Work on Fourth LP".Rolling Stone.Archived fromthe originalon March 2, 2014.RetrievedMarch 2,2014.
  3. ^"The Fray - We started recording our 4th record".Facebook.June 4, 2013.RetrievedMarch 2,2014.
  4. ^"The Fray - Just 3 days until #HELIOS is available for pre-order".Facebook.November 22, 2013.RetrievedMarch 2,2014.
  5. ^"The Fray - Our brand new album #HELIOS comes out 1.14.14".Facebook.November 26, 2013.RetrievedMarch 2,2014.
  6. ^"Helios by The Fray".iTunes.RetrievedMarch 2,2014.
  7. ^"Love Don't Die: The Fray: MP3 Downloads".Amazon.RetrievedJanuary 18,2014.
  8. ^@TheFray (May 9, 2014)."Artwork for our new single," Break Your Plans ""(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  9. ^abMonger, James Christopher (February 23, 2014)."Helios - The Fray".AllMusic.All Media Network.RetrievedFebruary 23,2014.
  10. ^abArgyrakis, Andy (July 1, 2014)."The Fray:Helios(Epic) "(PDF).CCM Magazine.Salem Publishing.p. 38.ISSN1524-7848.RetrievedJune 27,2014.
  11. ^abCatchpole, Kevin (February 25, 2014)."The Fray: Helios".PopMatters.RetrievedFebruary 25,2014.
  12. ^"THE FRAY HELIOS(Japan Version)".iTunes Stores.RetrievedMarch 3,2014.
  13. ^"Australiancharts – The Fray – Helios".Hung Medien. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  14. ^"Austriancharts.at – The Fray – Helios"(in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  15. ^"Ultratop.be – The Fray – Helios"(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  16. ^"Ultratop.be – The Fray – Helios"(in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  17. ^"The Fray Chart History (Canadian Albums)".Billboard.Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  18. ^"Offiziellecharts.de – The Fray – Helios"(in German).GfK Entertainment Charts.Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  19. ^"Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2014-03-17"(in Japanese).Oricon.Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  20. ^"South Korea Circle Album Chart".On the page, select "2014.03.02~2014.03.08" to obtain the corresponding chart.Circle ChartRetrieved March 16, 2014.
  21. ^"Spanishcharts – The Fray – Helios".Hung Medien. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  22. ^"Swisscharts – The Fray – Helios".Hung Medien. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  23. ^"The Fray | Artist | Official Charts".UK Albums Chart.Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  24. ^"The Fray Chart History (Billboard200) ".Billboard.Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  25. ^"The Fray Chart History (Top Rock Albums)".Billboard.Retrieved March 16, 2014.
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