ON this fifth album, the San Diegobased troubadour teams up with long-time friends and collaborators, like female rock-folk band Raining Jane on backing accompaniment throughout the 14 tracks.

Fans who enjoy hits such as I’m Yours, Lucky and I Won’t Give Up won’t be disappointed with the likes of Love Someone, Quiet, Best Friend and 3 Things (the latter two of which could allude to his broken engagement to Tristan Prettyman), covering themes such as love and spirituality, all delivered with his usual jaunty acoustic guitar, ukelele and melodic beats. The 37-year-old also covers It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday, written by Motown husband-andwife songwriting team Freddie Perren and Christine Yarian and previously sung by Boyz II Men and Tracy Morgan. Those expecting witty wordplay like in Mr A-Z, Mraz’s second album, may find he has increasingly mellowed in his older years.

Shereen Low