SHAZAM

Five years separate Gavin DeGraw's 2003 debut, Chariot, and its eponymous follow-up. Gavin DeGraw exists in a world where he's ubiquitous, played constantly in malls, movie theaters, TV shows, and American Idol, where his "I Don't Want to Be" was a virtual standard. Gavin DeGraw pretty much offers more of the same as Chariot, polishing up the sound, turning it into something bigger and slicker, but not changing his somewhat rootsy, somewhat soulful pop a whit. Unlike Maroon 5, he doesn't chase after modern trends in either R&B or pop -- he sticks with what he knows. Anybody who enjoyed Chariot will probably like this. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi