Roe

The Fray's commercial breakthrough has provided Colorado acts with a template for success, and plenty of them are following it closely — although generally with less slickness and skill than Fort Collins-based Roe. The players are committed to guitars, but they do love them some keyboards, too, as the introduction to "Atlas" demonstrates — and they're equally fond of big melodies, dramatic mid-song transitions and lyrics that can be read as expressions of either earthly love or the faith-based type (the first liner-notes shout-out is directed to Jesus Christ). But if Letter and Lights seldom strays from formula, at least the recording is crisp, and songs like "Mayday" add some power to their pop. In a post-Fray scene, that may be the best we'll do for a while.