16 Frames

After deafening buzz around 16 Frames' 2008 debut, the band decided to release the album again in 2009. With major label backing, they spruced up their cover and reordered the tracks for a slicker sequence. The elegiac rockers borrow lots of mid-tempo, minor-chord aches from the Fray's blueprint (a formula that has provided huge exposure on primetime TV). It's sappy as all get out -- especially tender breakup jams like "Let's Not Pretend" and "My History" -- but it's so brilliantly innocuous that it couldn't possibly offend. The best tune, hands down, is the up-tempo rarity, "Here It Comes."