Looks like The Fray know how to save their career: They're releasing their first new music in 10 years and have also announced a headline tour.
Since the "How to Save a Life" band's last album, 2014's Helios, lead singer Isaac Slade has left the band, leaving vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Joe King to take over frontman duties. The lineup also includes longtime members Dave Welsh on guitar and Ben Wysocki on drums. Their new project, a six-song EP called The Fray Is Back, will be out Sept. 27.
“I was under the belief that if you go away, people will forget about you,” King says in a statement. “When we decided to go on indefinite hiatus back in 2016, essentially ending the band, I actually came to peace with it, for a while at least."
He continues, "What I didn’t anticipate was that our music would live on, and perhaps I underestimated how our songs have become woven within the stories of millions, and no one forgets their story." He goes on to say that they began sharing musical ideas, which "became a unifying force that gave us new purpose and direction.”
Lead single "Time Well Wasted," along with a video, is out now.
The Fray will launch a headline tour of more intimate venues Sept. 27 in Washington, D.C. The tour is currently scheduled to wrap up Oct. 20 in Nashville. Welsh says in a statement, "For us, to be able to pick up the conversation where we left off is an unbelievable honor—and the opportunity to start a new conversation is something you just can’t take for granted, too.”