Every year, a flurry of newly released albums vie for the attention of eager ears, but very few of these albums prove worthy of a second listen. Rupert Wates' Coast to Coast: Postcards from America is an even rarer breed. Coast is evidence that some albums are so agreeable, so innocuous, so "OK," that they aren't even worth a second look.

Coast leads with the travel diary tune "On the Road to Santa Fe," which explores the many sights and sounds of the American experience and the open road. The Southwest-tinged folk-jazz ballad sets the mood for much of the album, throwing down a smorgasbord of American themes and various quirky characters. Unfortunately, there are limits to how much excitement bongos and a softly strummed guitar can provide.

London-born Wates sings in a rich, pleasing tone, and his story-based songwriting — skilled and down-tempo from a stint with jazz musician Liz Fletcher — is best as background music for a social gathering. Sadly, Coast barely escapes the negative connotation of "adult-contemporary." The mid-album ballad "Dancer in the Rain" is quintessentially charming, but marred by the generally fatal addition of saxophone. In comparison, closers "The Fellowship of Love" and "(When I Get Over to) California" gracefully invoke the smoky warmth of an elegant nightclub and make Coast a worthy addition to any couples' romantic dinner.

Despite all the beautiful — though often forgettable — moments of Coast, Wates shines when he works with his "postcards from America," spitting out the catchy twangs of folk-country and western flavor. Crooning like a young Warren Zevon, "Goodbye to the Old School" tells the anguished aftermath of a small-town school shooting. "(The Ballad of) Killer Weed" is more violent still, spinning an engrossing tale of drug deals gone wrong. The tune is appropriately reminiscent of the Carter family's "Juke Box Blues" and recalls Johnny Cash's stories of men gone wrong. Also like the Carters, Wates explores the Christian culture of country music. "A Friend Called Jesus" is a jam-filled highlight, rising above the album's filler with jovial guitar and soulful background vocalists. Finally, the bluesy "I'm the Guy" balances Wates' trained sound with playful lyrics, satirizing the United States government as "Big Brother" through the frame of a piano-driven love song.

Rupert Wates is undoubtedly talented. Coast to Coast: Postcards from America proves through its complex storytelling and a classy melodic sensibility. However, the prettiness that dominates much of the album should have taken second fiddle to Wates' successful attempts at car-top down, hair-blowing-in-the-wind Americana. Coast will please the listener wary of change or that youth-corrupting rock 'n' roll, but Wates just doesn't get his stiff-blazer balladry dirty enough to charm the rest of us.

2 stars out of 5