The greatest takeaway from Gavin DeGraw’s sixth album, “Something Worth Saving,” is that his style has changed drastically over the course of his career. For fans who grooved to “Chariot” and “Follow Through” nearly 15 years ago, DeGraw is an entirely different singer. In 2003, DeGraw’s songs ranged from slower, piano-centric ballads like “Just Friends” to grittier, head-bopping hits like “I Don’t Want To Be.” His style continued to follow emotional ups and downs, reaching its peak with “Sweeter” in 2011. Two years later, DeGraw’s unique, earthy style disappeared.
The most popular song on his 2013 album “Make A Move” was the upbeat, horn-heavy “Best I Ever Had.” While the track was percussive and catchy, it could have been written and performed by any other major artist. DeGraw’s unique, reverberatory voice faded into the background, and devoted fans were likely to mistake him for Phillip Phillips or OneRepublic. From this moment on, DeGraw seemed to be more interested in pleasing mainstream radio listeners than the folks who had followed him from the start of his career.
This same pattern of auto-tuned, catchy melody lines is present from the first seconds of the opening track on the new album. “She Sets The City On Fire” may remind listeners of Andy Grammer’s “Honey, I’m Good” in that it has a similar set of catchy lyrics — DeGraw’s “everybody knows she’s a perfect 10” mirrors Grammer’s fast-paced “I could have another, but I probably should not.” Despite these songs’ status as easy and fun tunes to sing along to, DeGraw’s new sound is nothing like the heartfelt, organic melodies he produced at the start of his career.
Ultimately, DeGraw’s voice on most of the “Something Worth Saving” tracks sounds like every other male pop artist on the radio today. Perhaps fittingly, he is presenting the new album on tour with Andy Grammer. Unfortunately, listeners may mix the artists up because they sound so similar. On the plus side, Andy Grammer’s fans are likely to enjoy DeGraw’s newer songs, and vice versa.
Highlights of the 10-song album are “You Make My Heart Sing Louder” and “Say I Am.” These tracks are clearly DeGraw in his unedited, old form. Similar to his earlier albums, these piano-heavy tracks feature less percussion and more of DeGraw on his own.
DeGraw agreed in a recent interview that, although there were still hints of his old style on the album, most of the sound was new and polished to appeal to new listeners. Change, he suggested, is both necessary and positive. Artists must keep up with changing times, and it is nearly impossible to please every old fan while simultaneously trying to appeal to new followers. Overall, “Something Worth Saving” is worth listeners’ time. Older listeners who see DeGraw live must be willing to accept the singer’s changed style, while hoping that he will bring back some of the songs that brought him fame in the first place.
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