Jason Mraz — Mr. A-Z

Virginia farm boy Jason Mraz delivers his sophomore album with tongue firmly placed in cheek. Album opener "Life Is Wonderful" is replete with la-la-la-las, tricking you to believe he's a one-note pop-ortunist, but then current single "Wordplay" blows your mind with tongue-tied lyrics like, "you want a new song like a new religion/music for the television/I can't do the long division/someone do the math." "Bela Luna" slows it down with mellow Spanish guitars that'll leave you hankerin' for the Mediterranean and "Plane" is a passion-play of genuine sentiment. We all wondered if Mraz could surprise us after his Train-ripoff debut, but he's polished his pop/hip-hop styles just enough to satisfy.

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