Stuck in a netherworld of near-hits,
Gavin DeGraw
decided it was time to make a bold move for his fifth album, broadening his soul-inflected rock on
Make a Move
. The change is apparent from the start, when the lead single "Best I Ever Had" stomps to a beat borrowed from folk-rockers
the Lumineers
and the title track struts like
Maroon 5
. After that,
settles down a bit, returning to the loping classic rock gait that brought
DeGraw
fame ten years prior. He still flirts with the present -- "Need" is a cool, slick piece of Europop; "Every Little Bit" and "Different for Girls" demonstrate that either he or his producers have been listening to the savvy new wave appropriations of
Bruno Mars
-- and these modern fashions fit him well, but he seems most comfortable whenever he's sticking closest to the sounds that made him, whether it's the crunching closer "Leading Man" or a ballad as sweet and simple as "I'm Gonna Try." It is to his credit that
doesn't seem incoherent as it flits between his past and present; he's a smooth operator, happy to sell these songs with a smile, eager to see them climb up the charts. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine