Full Review: Jason Mraz - We Sing We Dance We Steal Things

There is a lot of excitement over Mr. Mraz’s latest album as he seems to keep growing in popularity which each release (obviously the goal of any artist). This time around there may not be that many noticeable differences in style and execution of the record but this album is definitely different than his past releases.

Trying to put Jason Mraz in a box, style wise, would be foolish but it is safe to say that he’s a pop singer. That being said this album is a bit disappointing as it feels too pop. After 2 successful albums Jason now has the resources to make any album he wants (I’d assume) so maybe ‘We Sing We Dance We Steal Things’ was the album he always wanted to make but it feels as if he has moved away from his more indie roots a little too much.

Songs like “Lucky” and “Butterfly” both are examples of these very pop feeling songs with “Lucky” landing on the bland side of the fence. “Butterfly” uses elaborate music as a foundation for what is essentially a long pick up line. These are not the only songs that just don’t cut it, others include “Coyotes”, “Love For A Child” and “Only Human”, all of which are just very lackluster and become boring.

Before the hate-emails start coming in there are some good things about the record which do include the last 3 songs of the record, most importantly “The Dynamo Volition”. The song is the high point of the record and is definitely a throw back to more of Mraz’s early work. “Live High” also keeps the front half of the album interesting with its catchy melody and intriguing structure.

I will say that I did really try to get into the record by listening to it a lot but most of it just didn’t stick and I wouldn’t say these are bad songs but something just didn’t jive and grove like past stuff from the wordsmith.

Track Listing
1. Make it Mine
2. I’m Yours
3. Lucky
4. Butterfly
5. Live High
6. Love for a Child
7. Details In Fabric
8. Coyotes
9. Only Human
10. The Dynamo of Volition
11. If It Kills Me
12. A Beautiful Mess

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Buy ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.’ for $9.99 from Amazon.com