The other night I maliciously subjected my roommates to Gavin DeGraw’s latest album, Something Worth Saving.
Don’t get me wrong — I love Gavin, I could listen to One Tree Hill’s theme song, “I Don’t Want To Be,” on a loop for the rest of my life and I would probably belt the chorus every time. However, Something Worth Saving is somewhat of a departure from OG Gavin. This Gavin is more upbeat, less angsty and a lot more bubbly.
When the first track started rolling, I thought Adam Levine was serenading me with another one of Maroon 5’s corny pop ballads. But that annoyingly happy and upbeat sound pouring out of the speakers was none other than Gavin DeGraw making the best out of a bad situation.
For those of you who know of Gavin DeGraw, good for you. But I would be willing to bet that a lot of people don’t know of him or, at the very least, couldn’t name a song other than “I Don’t Want To Be.” So in an attempt to remain somewhat relevant, Gavin put out the ten-track, juvenile Something Worth Saving.
It’s not that the album is horrendously, unbearably awful, it’s just an immature effort for a seemingly experienced musician whose last album came out three years ago.
Despite the album’s overall mediocracy, there were some tiny peaks — albeit, only noticeable with the aid of a magnifying glass — throughout, such as “Kite Like Girl.”
“Kite Like Girl” is actually quite catchy and I jammed to it like a little girl. With an upbeat tempo and a peppy Maroon 5 meets John Mayer chorus, it’s by far the most stylistically distinct track on the album.
Another peak would be “Something Worth Saving,” for the sole reason that it actually made me realize that I’m single. It’s sad, melodic and maybe even a little bit beautiful. The Ron Pope-esque, “I’m-weaping-over-my-guitar” sound carries throughout, making “Something Worth Saving” the ideal song to eat an entire pint of Halo Top 240 cal. ice cream to (I know, God really does exist).
These two songs, though, are it. The remaining eight tracks are unremarkable — not bad, not great, just unremarkable. But then again, that’s Gavin DeGraw.