In the Pursuit of Leisure

1	Chasin' You Around 3:38
2	Is She Really Going Out With Him? 3:48
3	Heaven 4:26
4	Bring Me the Head Of... 0:42
5	Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy) 3:30
6	Can't Start 3:42
7	Photograph of You 3:48
8	56 Hope Road 3:51
9	Whatever We Are 3:41
10	She's Different 3:30
11	In Through the Doggie Door 3:09
12	Blues from a Gun 3:25

Barnes & Noble

Ever since their mainstream breakthrough, Sugar Ray have been dogged by naysayers who are hell-bent on proving that the band don't deserve to be taken seriously. Trouble is, Mark McGrath and company have never claimed that they want to be seen that way -- even going so far as to title an album 14:59, a play on their being near the end of the 15 minutes of fame allotted by Andy Warhol. In the Pursuit of Leisure offers no significant departures from the band's sunny mix of shiny, happy pop and bouncy rock riffs, punctuated by a good bit of humor. The crunchy "Mr. Bartender" -- which borrows a snatch of glam-metal melody from the Sweet's "Love Is like Oxygen," plus a sample of Midnight Star's disco favorite "No Parking (On the Dance Floor)" -- interpolates references to Eric Idle and Led Zeppelin in an introductory interlude, and somehow makes the juxtaposition work. Likewise, the cock-rock swagger of "In Through the Doggie Door" avoids the appearance of heavy-handedness, thanks to McGrath's winking delivery of the pseudo-sleazy lyric. Things lighten up on a fairly straightforward cover of Joe Jackson's tuneful lament, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?," as well as the Hawaiian-tinged "Heaven," which carries the disc's summery feel to its logical conclusion. Like cotton candy and cumulus clouds, In the Pursuit of Leisure is a light, fluffy, and totally enjoyable addition to the seasonal landscape. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Do you want proof that Sugar Ray are smarter, or at least savvier, than they seem? They not only abandoned funk-metal the second they had a hit with the breezy "Fly," they ran with their newfound success, turning into the sunny, good-time summertime band that American pop radio desperately needed in the bleak, self-absorbed aftermath of grunge. Thing was, they were much better as a pop band than a rock band; although they could occasionally hit a rocker out of the park, as they did on the punky power pop of "Answer the Phone," they felt more comfortable when they laid back and let the hooks speak for themselves, something they felt increasingly comfortable doing with each successive album, culminating in their first-rate 2001 eponymous record. That was a clean, straightforward pop album, working within the mainstream tradition and sounding surprisingly timeless in many ways. Its 2003 successor continues in the pop vein, but it tries to be a more contemporary version of that album, overloaded with modern drum beats and loops and processed guitars. Often, this is merely window-dressing on a good pop song, but sometimes it overwhelms the track if there are no hooks there -- as it does, ironically, on the album's first single, "Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)." So, it's not as consistent as Sugar Ray, stumbling on occasion, but it does deliver some great guilty pleasures -- the opening "Chasin' You Around"; the sweet "Heaven"; the rocker "In Through the Doggie Door," which redeems its title; the excellent cover of "Is She Really Going Out With Him?," where vocalist Mark McGrath precisely mimics the tone, timbre, and phrasing of Joe Jackson; and, finally, "Blues From a Gun," where they appropriate a Jesus & Mary Chain title and come up with a song that's pretty much the polar opposite of the Mary Chain. It all adds up to another winning record by a band who has proven to be far more resilient than anybody could have guessed when "Fly" flew to the top of the charts in 1997. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Blender

McGrath sounds both sexier and more gentle, sensitive and irresponsible, playing both the good boyfriend and the cad. RJ Smith