Song Review: Heartbeat by The Fray

One of my most favorite bands is coming out with their new album this February. The Fray, whose last self-titled album was released in 2009, have released the first single off of their third studio album titled Scars and Stories.



Heartbeat is a little different from what I identify as 'The Fray style'. It is a little on 'The Script' side. The Fray have this way of making the electric guitar behave like an acoustic one. The end result is a beautiful riff that can sound just as surreal on a piano. They do just that in Heartbeat.
I love it when Slade hits the falsetto notes! Some singers sound real bad in that pitch, but he makes it work 'real horrorshow'. The chorus is very catchy, you'll find yourself humming along to it very often. I especially like the lines, "If you can love somebody, love them all the same/You gotta love somebody, love them all the same".
But I have one major complaint. What's with the generic, cliched lyrics? I mean,what happened to stuff like 'Over My Head (Cable Car)'? Those were some good lyrics. Good lyrics should present the intended imagery with different ideas, newer comparisons; they should convey their meaning while still keeping you thinking whether that's what the songwriter meant by those words. I didn't see that in this song. It was all so 'been there, done that' boring. I could remember a thousand movies with the exact same scenario - rain, lovers running away on a truck, emotions running high, yada yada. What's new?

Verdict: A good song. Don't miss it if you are a fan of The Fray. For all others, there's plenty out there if you want choices.