Gavin Degraw

Gavin DeGraw's new album is full of pleasant surprises

New-York singer and songwriter Gavin DeGraw presents a splendid example of how a talent combined with stubbornness can lead a person to great heights. Starting with performances at local clubs the artist has become famous due to his hit I Don't Want to Be, an emotional autobiographic song. In its time it was the one to become the main theme of teen drama One Tree Hill. DeGraw's debut album Chariot has given a new super hit to the world which is the title song and since then Gavin's voice, a bit reminiscent of that of Maroon 5's Adam Levine is recognized by everybody. Besides the artist has already earned a reputation of an author who writes lyrics always rich in interesting metaphors and a bright imagery. He started working on his new album two years ago and finally the process has come to its logical ending. Record Gavin DeGraw includes both songs already known to many that could be heard on Gavin DeGraw's live performances and absolutely new pieces that he wrote under the influence of a recent breakup. The album has proved to be full of pleasant surprises and will easily occupy a worthy position among the year's best pop rock works.

More rock on Gavin DeGraw

The album has been inspired by a failed relationship thus the greatest part of the songs are somehow connected with the topic. Stylistically Gavin DeGraw offers more rock elements both instrumentally and melodically but at the same time is quite a romantic collection of beautiful love songs. The album opens with the first single In Love With A Girl, a nice but not a light composition flavored with a good portion of heavy guitars that harmonize greatly with Gavin's vocals while a melodious ballad Next To Me (Wait A Minute Sister) pleases with higher notes and a memorable chorus on which the singer asks a girl to give him some attention. An emotional track Cheated On Me is filled with most sincere feelings concerning cheating and along with it a more rhythmic composition I Have You To Thank is also not devoid of negative memories. A piano ballad Cop Stop is remarkable for a complicated tune perfectly suitable with DeGraw's vocals whereas Young Love, a story of a young couple surviving a crisis of relations will be appreciated by all the romantic listeners. Gavin reveals his more serious part on Medicate The Kids, sharing his concern about child drug addiction it probably being the only song on the record on which the singer has allowed himself to deviate from the more burning topic of relationship. A soft slow composition She Holds A Key is an example of the sweetest love confession whereas the piano on a livelier track Untamed sounds contagious as ever. The album closes with a song that has already become a favorite of many fans We Belong Together for its vivid catchy chorus and powerful rock guitars and drums simply leave nobody indifferent.

A deep understanding of life and an effervescent sense of humor

Whoever but Gavin DeGraw has to get used to being in the center of everyone's attention. Independent in his judgment he mainly sings about himself or expresses his views on this or that problem and quite often manages to combine a deep understanding of life with an effervescent sense of humor in his texts. The same picture can be observed on Gavin DeGraw: although the album on the whole is filled with sadness this feeling is not hopeless for as one well-known Russian song goes, a new acquaintance is the best remedy against solitude. Producer Howard Benson who has worked with such collectives as Daughtry, P.O.D. and My Chemical Romance has provided arrangements that are practically faultless, while the band in which one of the participants is Gavin elder brother Joey understands the vocalist as nobody so there is a complete harmony reigning between his voice and the sounding instruments. It goes without saying that at his age of 31 DeGraw is on the peak of his fame and is hardly going to finish his career, so we can have no doubt that he will soon start working on his next creation.