I know that Johnson and Mayer have now been played out and you’re probably thinking, “Oh, please, not another young heartthrob pouring out his emotions in four-bar whiny phrases.” But Mraz brings new style and inventive rhythms to his musical genre. It’s almost like he’s rapping his melodies at times.

I have also heard a few live recordings of Mraz with just his guitar, which after the fact made this album sound a bit crowded and slightly overproduced.

Mraz’s allure comes from his songwriting and smooth voice. The added tracks and instrumentation just take away from the melodic simplicity and down to earth lyrics. His song writing is phenomenal, with catchy hooks and upbeat themes that leave you humming all day.

Mraz’ striking resemblance to Mayer is no surprise, considering that John Alagia, who also worked with Mayer and the Dave Matthews Band, produces this album.

But this singer/songwriter isn’t from Hawaii, home of Johnson, or Connecticut, Mayer’s grass roots. He’s from the South, growing up in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Just goes to show that there are adolescent musicians in emotional turmoil all over the U.S.

Mraz moved out west to California in ’99, where he settled and spread his music to an eager San Diego audience. However, before moving to Southern California, Mraz took a shot at the New York music scene, studying musical drama. Once in San Diego, he got his start at a local coffee shop called Java Joe’s, where many other musicians have gotten a leg up to stardom.

There is not a song on the album that I dislike and this rarely happens to me. Currently, Mraz only has one single out on the radio, “The Remedy,” but each song has something special and unique to offer, and the album has a good mix of ballads and faster, upbeat songs.

Mraz says that he had originally wanted to make an album that would include the listener, but after listening to the album himself, he realized that it was all about him. So came about the album cover: a picture of Mraz with a rooster to represent the “cocky” nature of the record!

Overall, this album is definitely worth buying if you’re a fan of the singer/songwriter genre. But, if you don’t care to hear the melodic, emotional tales of a traveling young musician, perhaps you should go with the new Deftones album instead.