What goes around comes around, or so it's been said. For the first time, I'm managing to think about the statement in musical terms. After all, the first time I heard of Rob Thomas, it was when he was singing without his band, as a guest vocalist on Santana's "Smooth". As it was the only way to hear more from him, I picked up a couple of albums of him and his band, Matchbox Twenty and became a huge fan, more or less immediately.

From the opening track, "This is How a Heart Breaks", it seems that the latter is likely to be true. It's a mid-tempo pop track with a slight rock edge, particularly in the chorus that is perhaps more pop-rock as opposed to the more rock-pop sound of Matchbox Twenty, but certainly wouldn't have been too out of place on their most recent album.

With a low key, largely piano based intro, "Ever the Same" starts sounding a little like one of the ballads from Matchbox Twenty's "Mad Season". However, it doesn't quite build up in the same way, so essentially what you get here is a very pop influenced ballad, which isn't too bad, but isn't terribly memorable either. It does finish with a little more of a pop-rock flourish, but it's a bit too late by that stage.

"All That I Am" is another fairly insipid ballad. It's a down-tempo pop song with some interesting synth sounds over the back and some Eastern sounding music in parts. But apart from the variations in instruments, the song doesn't really go anywhere in particular.

There's more of a laid back funky feel to "Fallin' to Pieces". It's a mid-tempo song with a decent grove to it, although it's more of a pop-funk song than a true funk number. It's not the most impressive track here, although it does pass by quite nicely, without really imprinting itself on the memory.

I suspect that whether you're going to like this album is going to depend on how big a Matchbox Twenty fan you are. This could prove to be a bit of a shame for many, as it's likely to be mostly fans of the band that will buy Rob Thomas' solo album, having recognised the name. These people are likely to be a little disappointed as, although there are some nice touches and some moments that remind you where he came from, the album as a whole isn't as strong as some of their efforts.

From my point of view as a Matchbox Twenty fan, the major plus point to this album is that the relative lack of punch in the album may well mean that our next release from Rob Thomas will be a fourth Matchbox Twenty album. A prospect I would greet with far more enthusiasm that with news of a second solo album.