With his fifth studio album, Mr A-Z has gone from being one of the industry's smartest, wittiest singer-songwriters to one of the tamest and least adventurous around today.
Jason Mraz/ YES!
For American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, the massive success of his smash hit I'm Yours has become a double-edged sword. On the one hand it catapulted Mraz to mainstream stardom and effectively cemented him as a go-to guy for romantic ditties. On the other, however, it marked the point where his razor-sharp witticisms and effortless wordplay sadly began to dwindle. Mraz's third album, We Sing We Dance We Steal Things, on which I'm Yours appears, and fourth album, Love is a Four Letter Word, suffer from a lack of the personality (or personalities, even) that made his 2002 debut Waiting for My Rocket to Come and second album Mr A-Z so uniquely excellent.
For his fifth studio outing, simply titled YES!, Mraz has seemingly arrived at a creative impasse, for it's absolutely devoid of musical quirks and happy-go-lucky wordsmithery that he was once known for. Billed as a "purely acoustic album", YES! finds him going all guns blazing into easy-listening territory, collaborating with all female folk-rock quartet Raining Jane. The result here is a collection of lilting adult contemporary tunes custom-made for fans of Mraz's latter hits such as Lucky, and I Won't Give Up.
The album's first single, Love Someone, is an earnest paean to all the touchy-feeliness of being head over heels in love. "Shining stars all seem/To congregate around your face/When you love someone/It comes back to you," Mraz softly croons alongside the tender guitar strums. Just don't be surprised if you hear this song played at the next wedding you go to. Then there is the overtly optimistic Hello, You Beautiful Thing, a breezy tune about waking up happy to face the day despite bad dreams and "scenes of violence or pain replayed", and a respectable cover of Boyz II Men's classic R&B ballad It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.
The country-inflected Long Drive and Quiet are equally cloying. And just when we thought we've heard enough, the twangy A World With You has Mraz singing about moving to Paris, and "get ourselves a loft/Let's live in squalor, and spend all cost". The rest of the album goes on to make similar statements about love and happiness by relying on the musical formula based on acoustic rhythms, catchy melodies and layered harmonies courtesy of Raining Jane.
Given this repetition in both instrumentation and songwriting, this album obviously doesn't offer a lot of variety — especially to those of us who are more than ready to move on from the tedious giddiness of I'm Yours. Mraz certainly means well here, but while each track carries with it a positive glass-half-full, joy-to-the-world sentiment, listening to YES! in its entirety from beginning to end can be an excruciating NO! experience.
THE PLAYLIST
Mattnimare/ Keun Wan Tee 22 Kong Tuk Deun
Made up of four former music students from Mahidol University, local indie act Mattnimare have been making music for more than two years, and graced the stages of music festivals including Culture One and Big Mountain. Here with their latest offering, Keun Wan Tee 22 Kong Tuk Deun (The 22nd night of every month), Pree Asvaraksha, Kidakarn Chatkaewmanee, Jirakit Taowti and Boriboon Weerawong give us a brooding ballad with beautiful, poetic lyrics about the passage of time. The crescendos, while reminiscent of Foals’ Spanish Sahara , add a little bit of drama to the otherwise tame track.
New Order/ Plastic
Post-punk veterans New Order have unveiled another new song, called Plastic , hot on the heels of Singularity , the first single since their eighth album Waiting For The Sirens’ Call (and, of course, since their bassist Peter Hook left in 2007). The seven-minute track is built on a dancefloor-friendly Balearic beat and slightly dark synth lines that recall Kraftwerk. The rest, however, is still the quintessential New Order that we’ve come to love over the years. While there is no official word yet whether Plastic and Singularity will appear on the band’s upcoming record, this should be enough to tide fans over until then.
Jungle/ Time
The London-based duo Jungle have previously impressed us with a series of excellent singles including The Heat , Platoon and Busy Earnin’ , and now they’re back with another gem called Time . Pulled from their eponymously debut LP, the track is an infectious blend of pop, soul, funk and electro with some lush synths sprinkled on top. Pretty much in line with their earlier offerings, Time finds childhood friends Tom McFarland and Joshua Lloyd-Watson meticulously laying down their crisp falsetto, crafting irresistible hooks that will stick in your brain for days to come.
Nile Rodgers/ Do What You Wanna Do
“Time to play a little disco!” announces an unidentified voice during the intro of Nile Rodgers’ new solo track, Do What You Wanna Do . Indeed, it is time because after enjoying a career resurgence following collaborations with Daft Punk, Pharrell and Avicii, the disco-funk legend is more than ready for an official comeback. This song marks the Chic frontman's first new material in what seems like forever, and it’s built on his trademark funky grooves, uplifting disco vibe and positive message. This could possibly be the summer anthem to end all summer anthems.
Trey Songz (featuring Nicki Minaj)/ Touchin’ Lovin’
Touchin’ Lovin’ is the second collaboration between R&B crooner Trey Songz and rapper Nicki Minaj since their first, Bottoms Up , back in 2010. The song is the third single after Na Na and Smartphones taken from Songz’ sixth studio album, Trigga . He is in his element here, supplying his smooth R&B croon to the raunchy lyrics. Refusing to be outdone, Minaj does her bit with equally X-rated verses. Racy lyrics aside, Touchin’ Lovin’ recalls Chris Brown and some of Usher’s earlier material.
