Jason Mraz would tell you he likes to treat everything as a beginner, and for 20 years, he has been traversing genres across a discography that has had peaks and troughs, never quite reaching the popularity of his 2008 album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Yet, he has remained consistently committed to reinventing and repurposing genres and sounds.

Now, in his eighth studio album Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride, Mraz reunites with producer Martin Terefe. The result is an album with its arms wide open, picking from an established cupboard of funk, pop, and soul. One could call this re-invention, or simply a return to the pop that catapulted him to fame. Regardless, the result is the glossy, highly produced album you would expect of a musician with over 20 years in the game. Proficient at developing hooks, Mraz hits all the marks, embedding rhymes into the recesses of the subconscious, so you catch yourself singing them in the shower.

But despite his glossy slick production, 40-year-old Mraz projects an image of a wiser, more aware artist of himself and the world around him. A divorce under his belt, he speaks of the influence of his mom on the album, legalization of marijuana, and the importance of his band Raining Jane. He reflects on coming into his sexuality and interrogating his masculinity, giving the impression of someone searching for authenticity, in the way that is expected of someone in his position at this stage of his career.

One would think that this self-realization would produce a different album than the one we have been given. But ever young, Mraz doesn’t give the appearance of taking himself too seriously.
And it’s fun. The music video for I Feel Like Dancing is a 70s inspired ride through the rose-tinted glasses that only the present can afford the past. With rich costumes, playful sets, and a haze of nostalgia, Mraz succeeds in world building here. There are hints of our geek in the pink with his signature wordplay, at times feeling recycled from days gone by but with the same playfulness ever present. 

Mraz’s wishes to play at the ‘fringes of pop’, and his array of influence is a testament to that desire. However, this is not always executed to its full potential. Tracks like You Might Like It make fluffy statements, repurposing sitars and pop formulas that echo the Beatles or Bruno Mars to good, not brilliant, effect. Yet behind it all lies an underlying openness, a joy of making music with people he loves, a desire to have fun and a cyclical journey back to pop like an old friend.

Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride is an album just as at home on a Spotify playlist in 2023 as his original hits were blaring out of my mom’s minivan during the school drop off in 2008. A testament to the longevity of an artist who, even now, is still reaching for reinvention.