Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz
We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things
(Atlantic)
By Rachelyn Gordon
Choice Cut : I'm Yours, A Beautiful Mess, Live High, Love For A Child
The geek in the pink is finally back! This time, however, it is without the candy floss in hand, dancing along the sidewalks in his pink flip flops and head-bopping to the boom box on his shoulders.
Jason Mraz's third studio album is titled, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. The album features "I'm Yours," an undeniable hit with fans as well as collaborations with English songwriter, James Morrison and MySpace success story, Colbie Cailat.
Staying true to his style of penning songs and waxing lyrical about relationships and personal experiences that affect him in his life, this album is easy on the ears but still has enough soul or angst, one may say, to leave an impression.
A word of advice, do not expect the entire album to be of the same tone as his previous album, Mr A-Z. This was the one stark difference that stood out: the change in the direction of the two albums. While Mr A-Z was light-hearted and cheery, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things is darker and more thought-provoking. Hidden in between the tracks, are lyrics and rhythms clearly showing anger, regret over having grown up too fast and a broken heart.
In fact, Mraz did intend for this album to reflect the changes he had recently embraced in his life. He had experienced an awakening of and I quote, "self realization, self empowerment and self improvement."
The album starts in typical Mraz fashion, with classic upbeat, feel-good songs about falling head-over-heels in love, taking opportunities in life and not letting go of your dreams. Live life like it should be lived, sings Mraz, and that is, in his own words, "live high, live mighty."
Just as you start to get comfortable, bouncing along to the tracks, a rainbow forming over your head, heavy rain-sodden clouds suddenly, very rudely disrupts the listening experience. The end of the album is written to portray a completely different mood as compared to the first half. The melodies get more somber, the lyrics more thought-provoking than what you may be comfortable with. An overall gloom is cast upon the colorful rainbow Mraz had first created.
While some songs are about the divorce of his parents that he witnessed as a child, others talk about the world being "a dynamo of volition" and suppressed love.
That said, fans should be happy that the album ends with, "A Beautiful Mess," which has Mraz's signature stamp of injecting hope into another one of life's predicaments. It might also earn a redeeming brownie point with you for destroying your rainbow. A bittersweet song on love, it is, in a nutshell, about loving a person despite their flaws and the pain they put you through. Love is never perfect and while it isn't, it is still beautiful.
This last track, in my opinion, cannot have done a better job in neatly summing that up with precision. "Its like, we are picking up trash in dresses," indeed.
Differences aside, one thing stays the same, Mraz has succeeded in getting his audience to sing, dance and get their hearts stolen with his music again.
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