Boys and their toys

Feel trodden under the crowd of pop-riddled tunes and a rap-infested universe? As the CD title Room for Squares would suggest, singer-songwriter John Mayer extends an invitation into his guitar-driven world of light rock. Since the middle of this year, Mayer has broken through the music scene with his utterly infectious radio hit "No Such Thing", with many foreseeing further success.

But how does the rest of the album pan out? Musically, there isn't much to complain about. Mayer crafts a CD chock-full of likeable melodies, with the energetic introduction of "No Such Thing" riding on Mayer's smooth riff. Throughout the record, Mayer effortlessly switches mood from eclectic-jazz ("Neon") to folk-rock ("Your Body is a Wonderland"), with patches of ballads such as "City Love" thrown in. Mayer also provides an example of muted excellence with "My Stupid Mouth", where its suave and charming glimpse into his botched attempts at romance make for the album's most entertaining moment.

However, the quality of this album is dragged down by lyrical content that is pleasant at some parts, but gratingly overworked at others. His personal musings that drive "Why Georgia", for example, border on irritating, with contrived chimes such as "Wood in places to make it feel like home/But all I feel's alone/It might be a quarter life crisis/or just the stirring in my soul". As the album continues, Mayer's attempts at painting a picture of the troubled and curious life falls flat, and by the last track "St.Patrick's Day", Mayer's take on love, life and leisure leaves a bad aftertaste in the musical mouth.

Sad, because apart from this glitch, Mayer's debut album shines. Room for Squares proves to be a solid, albeit uneven, debut for an artiste who is just taking flight. Much can be expected in the near future for this latest rendition of boys and their toys.

Jonathan Chew