Onerepublic’s third album Native sees the Colorado-based band bring more fresh and catchy songs to our ears. Developing more of the upbeat sounds found in Waking Up, Native is a great album full of evocative melodies and stunning vocals by front man Ryan Tedder.

The opening track, ‘Counting Stars’, certainly grabs your eardrums. With one of the most memorable choruses I’ve heard in a very long time, it is arguably the best on the album and, for me, justifies buying the CD.

‘If I Lose Myself’ follows, and although this track clearly has a more commercial aim (being the first single off the album), it still makes for good listening with a strong rhythm and more electronic beats than can be found in the previous two albums.

The climax of the album though comes with ‘Au Revoir’. Here Tedder does what he does best – simple piano melodies and haunting vocals. A definite favourite that is reminiscent of the more relaxed songs from Waking Up, particularly the first half of ‘Missing Persons 1 &2’.

‘Something I Need’ is another stand-out track, with another catchy chorus that proves why Tedder is one of the most sought-after songwriters on the planet. It’s such a shame that he doesn’t spend more time writing for his own band and that he doesn’t have as much success with Onerepublic that he gets by writing songs for the likes of Adele, Beyoncé and Maroon 5.

The deluxe edition is also worth forking out that extra couple of pounds for. Not only do you get two great tracks in ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ and ‘Life in Color’, but the band also recorded three beautiful acoustic versions of ‘If I Lose Myself’, ‘What You Wanted’ and ‘Burning Bridges’.

All in all, another great effort from one of my favourite bands. Although I wouldn’t say that this tops Waking Up, Native shows that Onerepublic is a very underrated band that deserves more success and publicity than they are currently getting.