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"  Six years after &amp;#039;How to Save a Life&amp;#039; and The Fray have never quite managed to step out of its shadow; a problem which resulted in lacklustre sales of their second record, 2009&amp;#039;s The Fray.  Rather than rushing out a follow-up loaded with chart-friendly but ultimately empty hits, they&amp;#039;ve taken their time on Scars &amp;amp;amp; Stories, soaking up inspiration from across the globe and hiring producer Brendan O&amp;#039;Brien (Bob Dylan, Pearl Jam). Lead single &amp;#039;Heartbeat&amp;#039; - inspired by their trip to Rwanda - is everything we&amp;#039;ve come to expect from the Denver rockers: a soothing but arena-ready riff, an earworm hook and the unique twang and insightful lyricism of frontman Isaac Slade.  The formula is much the same elsewhere, with O&amp;#039;Brien leading them down the piano-led pop-rock path already well trodden by the likes of Coldplay and U2. Regardless, the likes of &amp;#039;The Fighter&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Run For Your Life&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;48 To Go&amp;#039; are as lush and satisfying as you&amp;#039;d hope while remaining forward-thinking.  There&amp;#039;s little fun to be had here, particularly on the despairingly raw &amp;#039;I Can Barely Say&amp;#039; and closing lullaby &amp;#039;Be Still&amp;#039;, though hints can be heard on the funk-driven &amp;#039;Turn Me On&amp;#039; and the wobbly-stringed &amp;#039;Munich&amp;#039;. It&amp;#039;s not a complete reinvention by any means, but a confident step in the right direction.   Watch the &amp;#039;Heartbeat&amp;#039; music video below:       "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/album-reviews/review/a368751/the-fray-scars-stories-album-review/>