Since the he charmed the MTV circuit in 2002 with “Waiting for My Rocket to Come,” fueled by three hit radio singles, Jason Mraz has continued to refine his writing style from the cheerful guitar-driven pop of his first album, but not without a few glitches. His new album, “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things,” sports a number of potential singles while showing serious songwriting progression for the 30-year-old San Diegan musician.Mraz strikes a sometimes precarious balance between impassioned love and stolid maturity, and the songs on “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” reflect that, with the equilibrium constantly in flux. Thick horn explosions ramp up the overindulgent points of love while Mraz’s trademark “man and a guitar” style remains a focal point of the new album. “Make It Mine” and “Butterfly” both scream radio hit, with their playful glitz somewhat masking the singer-songwriter’s kindred respect for love. His duet with Colbie Caillat, “Lucky,” will turn some heads even as the era of the male-female duet seems to have faded significantly in this sort of music.
What makes “Lucky” such an outstanding ballad is that both Mraz and Caillat are excellent individually in the verses as well as together on the chorus. The only downside is that Caillat doesn’t necessarily distinguish herself as a guest on this song any more than if any of her contemporaries had taken the spot instead.
“Details in the Fabric” shows Mraz’s acoustic side, as the song tenderly moves along without becoming boring. “Coyotes” takes on almost a club vibe with some vocal distortion and beats, but the brief orchestral interludes serve to make it a really interesting track that may initially throw listeners for a loop. “The Dynamo of Volition” continues the poppy, upbeat delivery that Mraz enjoyed on much of his first album and about half of this new one. “If It Kills Me” is delivered with a charming piano melody, and stands out among the final few songs of the album. “We Sing…” is punctuated by a slowly-building closer with “A Beautiful Mess,” which is most definitely worth hanging on until the end for.
The biggest problem with the album is the order of the tracks. Most of the upbeat songs are followed by slow ones that hurt the overall momentum after the fourth track. Every time Mraz tries to establish an identity for this new CD, the next song stops it dead in its tracks. As a result, it lends a lot more memorability to the upbeat ones, and doesn’t allow the slower cuts to really spread their wings and sink in, despite the fact that they’re quite good in their own right.
Providing the carefree soundtrack to your summer, Jason Mraz combines the playful lyrics he’s always sported with lush instrumentals on the new disc. Featuring some of the best songs he’s ever written, it firmly declares that the eclectic and immensely talented musician is here to stay, proven with a huge leap forward in the songwriting and replayability factors of his music.
Roll the windows down and belt out the faster songs, and pull that special someone a little closer for the slower ones; you’ll both be hooked on this CD.