'cradlesong' by Rob Thomas
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Four years is an eternity to wait before releasing a new album. Yet that’s what Rob Thomas, also lead singer of Matchbox Twenty, did. Sure, there’s been things in the interim, such as the greatest hits set “Exile on Mainstream” that Matchbox Twenty released in 2007, but Thomas’s solo output always had more of a pop sensibility to it than in the group, where a harder rock edge was prominent.

So it’s nice to say that he’s back, with his latest solo effort, “cradlesong,” a new collection of material that thankfully is as adventurous and rewarding as previous solo material. The songs run the gamut again, from more rock-based jams to lighter pop fare, although that rock edge seems to be a bit more present this time.

The songs feel a bit more urgent, the production a bit tighter, the beats a bit heavier. The hooks are in abundance and the music itself continues to be enjoyable.

Thomas mines some familiar territory here. Lead single “Her Diamonds” has the slightest feel, likely due to the almost equal tempo and percussion structure, to its counterpart on the last album, “Lonely No More.” However, instead of funky guitars, some subtle instrumentation accents a straight-ahead pop-rock track. It’s still a fun listen, although not quite as inventive.

There’s more adventurous tracks out there, such as “Real World ’09,” which ups the tempo and tweaks the sounds of the guitars just a bit for a heart-racing result. “Hard On You” adds some world beat sensibility, something that actually permeates some of the tracks at various levels, and successfully so. He plays with electronica a bit on “Believe,” which is a bonus track on some versions of the album, including the iTunes version, reviewed here. Yet in all his experimentation, he doesn’t stray too far from the pop template, and it’s all meticulously produced.

The one takeaway from this album over the last one is that, while all enjoyable enough, it doesn’t seem quite as fun as the last one did, and it’s a bit harder to just enjoy start to finish. Thomas’s last album jumped around quite a bit, just like this one, but there was a flow that started out guitars ablaze and slowly shifted to a softer pop palatte that gave the album an interesting mood as you progressed. This time I felt myself reaching for the jump forward/jump back controls a bit more. It’s not so much that each track, by itself, isn’t enjoyable – indeed, there’s some likable moments on the album. But the album’s fl ow just doesn’t hold onto you as well.

Thomas as a solo artist proved his mettle with the surprise hit “Smooth,” a collaboration with Santana that went gangbusters on the charts in 1999. Following that with “Something to Be,” his first solo album in 2005, Thomas showed some more intriguing sides to him than the heavier edges that previously had been demonstrated through his output with Matchbox Twenty. Through all of this, he also showed an incredible penchant for strong songwriting, with catchy lyrics and beats with a potent aural backing to match.

Thomas hasn’t lost that ability. The majority of the songs are strong. Yet the change-ups are nothing more than window dressing on a pretty simple template, and while that makes for a cohesive album, it sometimes comes at the expense of diversity and spontaneity. Don’t let that deter you from buying the album; just expect to gravitate to the tracks that move you at the moment, leaving the others behind for another day.