Secondhand Serenade - A Twist in My Story

If ever I was to use the would “Emo” incorrectly to describe a band or person’s appearance and sound I would use it on Secondhand Serenade’s newest album. I won’t use it though because it would be improper use. Let me tell you though, it’s tempting.

It’s amazing how similar the sound and feel of Secondhand Serenade is to Dashboard Confessional. Obviously this is a comparison that isn’t new and has been made since the beginning but ‘A Twist In My Story’ only furthers the similarities between the two. As strange as it might seem or sound Dashboard Confessional just doesn’t seem so whinny and annoying next to Secondhand Serenade’s new record and it actually makes me want to listen to ‘The Shade Of Poison Trees‘ instead.

‘A Twist In My Story’ is very mainstream radio friendly with songs like “Maybe” or “Like A Knife” which pulls all the right punches both with the melody and the song’s dynamic build up which would put them right at home in the halls of high school’s everywhere. It’s hard not to get sucked in the songs and it’s fine if you do but after listening to them a few times the effect wears off and feels hollow.

The music on this album is much more complete but also more generic than the debut ‘Awake’. Piano, and acoustic guitar are the dominate forces behind the instrumentation but there is definitely plenty of drums and electric guitar to go around.

“Goodbye” ends the album in an expected melodramatic way in which the vocals sing out desperate lines like “…everything about seems to be a lie, a guiltless twisted lie that made me learn to hate you…”. Again if this is the type of music you enjoy then you will absolutely eat this up, all 5 and a half minutes of the closing song. If you’re not someone who particularly enjoys this then honestly I’m surprised you’ve read this far. You should know by now that this album isn’t for you and to save your money for something else like Edison Glass’ ‘Time Is Fiction’.

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Secondhand Serenade - Awake

As a group name for singer/songwriter John Vesely (who plays and sings just about everything here), Secondhand Serenade is oddly appropriate, since Awake sounds on just about every level like a studious approximation of Dashboard Confessional. Awake isn't necessarily a bad album, but the lack of original inspiration on songs like "Vulnerable" and "Maybe" is pretty startling. (Obviously, even the song titles are second-hand.) Even the first-time listener should be able to pinpoint exactly at which second Vesely's double-tracked high harmony voice is going to come in, for example, or when the tune will modulate upward for an extra soupçon of yearning and strain. That said, while Vesely isn't the least bit unique, he does his chosen style well enough, and there's no reason why fans of the sensitive-guy-with-acoustic end of emo wouldn't at least be curious about Awake. ~ Stewart Mason

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Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things

Out of the mellow folk-pop dudes who've surfed to stardom on Jack Johnson's wave, Jason Mraz may be the most entertaining, since he'd rather crack a joke than ruminate on life and stuff. (When he mentions Jesus, it's in the same verse as ''a party getting started in the yard.'') His third studio CD, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things., includes pleasantly lightweight jams with beachy guitars (''Live High''), R&B horns (''Make It Mine''), even playful scat singing (''I'm Yours''). Of special note is ''Lucky,'' Mraz's bubbly duet with Colbie Caillat, which should have girls swooning all summer long.


Make it Mine
I'm Yours
Lucky (feat Colbie Caillat)
Butterfly
Live High
Love for a Child
Details in The Fabric
Coyotes
Only Human
The Dynamo of Volition
If It Kills Me
a Beautiful Mess

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Jason Mraz - Waiting For My Rocket To Come

Virginian-born wannabe southern Californian Jason Mraz brings across the Atlantic a host of different influences and comparisons with his new album Waiting For My Rocket To Come.

His expressive voice leads you into the opener You and I Both, a laid-back number celebrating a relationship that may or may not have ended, giving early indications of Mraz's melodic capabilities. I'll Do Anything continues in the laid-back vein, with his verses becoming increasingly packed with word and wit, contrasted with the more spacious choruses, which brings me to The Remedy (I Won't Worry), the single, which contains melodic raps in the verses leading into a glorious wave-your-arms in-the-air chorus.

Mraz combines a pop sensibility with his jazz-blues stylings, his original idea being "music to sleep by". An idea illustrated by slower songs Who Needs Shelter, dissecting the working lifestyle, and Absolutely Zero, where he is in fine voice, suitably gentle and seductive.

He's been compared to artists such as John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, and Tracy Chapman (who he supported on tour), and American college-rockers OAR, which may have something to do with their shared producer John Alagia.

He also brings to mind later songs by Ani Difranco in their jazziness, like the Rhodes solo in No Stopping Us, and the muted trumpet in the closing Tonight, Not Again, based on a poem.

Touches like the banjo and the horn section, the girls in Curbside Prophet, coupled with his diverse singing styles help to highlight Mraz's versatility both vocally and musically, equally at home on the upbeat hip hop pop songs like the single The Remedy or the slower songs like The Boy's Gone.

Bringing a fresh sound to the party will hopefully bring Mraz the attention he deserves, and make him stand out among the crowd. A very diverse, summery record, from an artist to watch.

- Scott Millington

You and I Both
I'll Do Anything
The Remedy (I Won't Worry)
Who Needs Shelter
Curbside Prophet
Sleep All Day
Too Much Food
Absolutely Zero
On Love, In Sadness
No Stopping Us
The Boy's Gone
Tonight, Not Again

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