In case you didn't catch the pun in the title of
Jason Mraz's sophomore album,
Mr. A-Z, the singer/songwriter repeats it in the chorus of "Wordplay," the first single from this follow-up to his hit 2002 debut,
Waiting for My Rocket to Come. It's a play on his last name, which is appropriate, since it indicates his self-absorbtion, but it's a good match for the dirty-joke title of his debut.
Mraz's loose-limbed, litely funky, litely jazzy pop recalls
Matthews and all of the post-Aware Records singer/songwriters who followed in his wake; he loves to have his words spiral up and down on a cascade of moon/June/spoon rhymes and repetition. All of these traits were apparent on
Waiting for My Rocket to Come, but with a little success underneath his belt,
Mraz indulges himself on
Mr. A-Z, constructing songs that give him a place to sing about himself. For those who enjoyed those undercurrents in his debut, this will be a delight. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine