JASON MRAZ New Album

By John Glynn

Jason Mraz is back. That is a sentence that either excites you or makes you shudder with fear. “I picture something, it’s beautiful/ It’s full of life and it is all blue” are the opening words on the American singer-songwriter’s fourth album, Love Is A Four Letter Word, confirming that here we have a guy who rarely suffers from burdens such as self-loathing or insecurity. The first few lines were enough to make me cringe. Sure enough, the album is one saturated in loveliness, rainbows, puppies, and all round happiness. If you previously thought he was mellow, just wait until you hear his new material. Mraz’s album supplies us with 12 songs, each exploring love in all its forms. It’s safe to say, Jason is a lover.

Undoubtedly, Mraz’s 2008 breakthrough was courtesy of that insipid, pop-reggae tack. Yes, I am talking about “I’m Yours.” So I understand that it was irrational of me to imagine his fourth album to be something unique and musically defining, but even by his own standards this is a rather pedestrian affair. With that being said, by and large, the album has received positive reviews, so far. Kyle Anderson, the musical guru at Entertainment Weekly, wrote “he tiptoes the line between hammock-strung wisdom and twee naïveté with such goofball charisma that otherwise forgettable love-each-other-doodles become sweetly breezy anthems.” I totally understand Anderson’s viewpoint, you simply like Mraz or you don’t. For me, Mraz’s music is something that I can bare, even appreciate, but not something I would make time to try and identify with.

Artistically, there isn’t much to identify with. I’m being kind when I say, lyrically, this album is rather weak, Mraz is not helped by awkward lines that interchange between predictability and ridiculousness (“We are spiraling down in gravity”… an “ingenious” Newton reference). Mraz’s everlasting optimism – displayed to its sweetest effect on 2008’s cringe fest “I’m Yours” – is even more prominent here, I didn’t think it was possible, but it is. Recorded in the aftermath of a relationship, Love Is A Four Letter Word is 12 songs infused with optimism and ample amounts of cheese. “Living in the Moment” even begins with whistling, this may sound intriguing, but it’s far from palatable. Lyrically, Mraz may be all cheerful, even nauseating, but I must say that he does at least manage to pair his words with a variety of genres. This does prove that he is a musician of some capability, with an aptitude for identifying tracks that please his undying fan base.

In these demanding times, Mraz is here to tell us that everything is just fine, not to worry, just slouch down and relax on your hammock. Cynics should prepare themselves for a rollercoaster of optimism, but they might have checked out by the time Jason gets around to “Everything Is Sound.” It starts with a nice beat, and if the enthusiasm was used sparingly, it would be fine, but “adulation” drowns the song out. Featuring lyrics such as “let’s sing to be happy/to feel things/to communicate/to be heard/sing out to protest/to project/and to harmonize with birds.” It’s enough to make a grown man cry (and yes, I did, not because of the beauty, but because I had to listen to the rest of the album).

On the softly swaying, “Living In the Moment,” Mraz is so relaxed and laid-back, he’s almost horizontal. “I let my past go past/and now I’m having more fun/I’m letting go of the thoughts that do not make me strong/and I believe this way can feel the same for everyone.” It’s more motivational, awe inspiring words from Mraz, and yes, I am being sarcastic.

At the end of the day, it’s difficult to decide which irritates me more – the insanely joyful, bubbly songs or the immature, lazy lyrics. It feels like the album goes hand-in-hand with rainbows, unicorns, little kittens, and chirping birds of love. It’s just too much; intolerable quirkiness mixed with embarrassing expectations. I realize that this album will clock up ridiculous sales levels, catapulting the American back to the top of the charts. It is rather saddening to think that so many people regard Mraz as being a pioneer of some sort, a musician at the forefront of what’s cool in the world of music. Mraz is a musician who has always looked on the brighter side of life and his music has reflected his never ending optimism. It’s proved itself to be an effective approach, as on the all-pervading “I’m Yours.” He has a good voice, and I respect that he has found a niche in the market, but Mraz does himself no favors on his latest album, drowning in his own well-intentioned message of gratification.

“Love Is A Four Letter Word”…………… S**T is also a four letter word, enough said.