Something To Be

Even Matchbox-ish numbers like "Ever the Same" sound fresh in this new context.

This isn't edgy work by any means -- and for as hooky and chorus-driven as it is, it's music that becomes memorable through repeated plays, never quite catching hold upon the first listen -- but it's more colorful and well-constructed than a lot of contemporary mainstream rock in the mid-2000s, and it's arguably more appealing than Matchbox Twenty's earnest guitar rock.

As good as it should be. [Jul 2005, p.120]

Mr. Thomas can be a cloying songwriter... Still, plenty of emo singers probably envy Mr. Thomas's knack for writing big, slightly sad songs. [25 Apr 2005]

Tracks like "Lonely No More" might strike a chord because people will think it's a funky new Maroon 5 song. However, Backstreet Boys-esque ballads like "Ever the Same" and "When the Heartache Ends" are just way too much to handle.

This is by no means a bad album, but to my ears, it’s worse; it’s mediocre.

The momentum collapses with ballads that would suit not only his band but even the Backstreet Boys. [May 2005, 124]

Tries hard to add a few hues absent from Matchbox 20's colourless rock. [Jul 2005, p.90]

As long as he continues to believe those who trumpet his vices as virtues, no amount of musical exploration or pretentiously titled solo albums will set him free of the straitjacket he's written himself into.