The Fray Is Back. That's the name of the new EP by The Fray, their first release since 2014 and their first new music since lead singer Isaac Slade left the group in 2022. The "How to Save a Life" band is also back out on tour, with guitarist and songwriter Joe King taking over on vocals — and he says fans seem thrilled to have them back.
"It's been overwhelming to hear from the fans, to be honest," he tells ABC Audio. "There's so much gratitude they're expressing to us, like, 'Thank you for doing it.' And we're supposed to be the ones saying thank you. And so we're just humbled, we're grateful to be doing this."
"It's rare to be able to go after what you love in life, you know, and we're doing it for the second time," he notes. "So that's a gift."
How does Joe feel singing the songs that he's watched Isaac sing for so many years?
"Honestly, the songs are so much beyond us as individuals. You look at any band in history, the songs are what matter," he says. "The songs are the thing that the fans, and we, come back to. So, yeah, I'm loving singing these songs and I'm honored to sing them."
But is Isaac interested in seeing The Fray with Joe out front? Apparently, yes.
"He actually texted. He's like, 'Hey, man, can I come see a show?'" Joe laughs. "I was like, 'We don't have any guest list spots.'"
Meanwhile, the band's having such a good time that they'll head into the studio in November to record more songs, with a release planned for spring.
"We found this, like, dynamic, this chemistry," Joe says. "We're coming back to the starting point again in a lot of ways, so it feels fresh."
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