Jason Mraz - Love Is a Four-Letter Word (Atlantic)

Artist’s fourth album never tries too hard or aims too big

Apr 18, 2012 at 12:00 am
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Jason Mraz is like that one dude in the bunch of bros who isn't a total dickhead. While his buddies get a little too loud and obnoxious, Mraz is in the corner sipping his beer and smiling sheepishly, avoiding the stares of offended bystanders. It's exactly those qualities that make him such a likable but somewhat faceless artist. His fourth album — and first since the inescapable "I'm Yours" dominated airwaves in 2008 — features a little bit of everything that's come to define the 34-year-old singer-songwriter: springy acoustic pop ("Everything Is Sound"), beach-ready sing-alongs ("The Freedom Song") and cutesy folk ("I Won't Give Up"). But like the "easy and breezy" lifestyle Mraz celebrates in "Living in the Moment," Love Is a Four-Letter Word never tries too hard or aims too big, kinda like that forgettable guy in the corner.