It seems unfathomable that an already mediocre singer and artist could get any more second-rate on the border of just plain bad. Always striving to do the seemingly undoable, Ryan Cabrera has achieved this with his new album, You Stand Watching.

Born and raised in Texas, Cabrera discovered his passion for music in high school. After starting a punk rock band he discovered the joys of Dave Matthews, which caused him to drop his newly formed outfit. He picked up an acoustic guitar and started another band, called the Rubix's Groove. While still in high school, the band toured around Dallas gaining local fame and acclaim. The band had blown up to the point that they were asked to tour with the likes of Ben Harper, Third Eye Blind and Cheap Trick. Cabrera dropped out of the band and, after being given studio time as a birthday gift from his brother, began his solo career. While cutting three tracks he had written, the engineer at the session was so impressed that he offered to let him do an entire album — for free.

His first album, Elm Street, was an Internet success and in 2001 Atlantic Records picked Cabrera up. In 2004 his second, more widely recognized album, Take It All Away, was released to critical praise. Curt Frasca, who produced Avril Lavigne, and Johnny Rzeznik, lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls, helped produce the album. He then went on a several month college tour spreading the word about his new album. Now, less than a year later, he has released yet another album.

You Stand Watching is truly a classic pop album. It has the predictable beat, rhythm and style that Cabrera used on his first album. What's surprising about the album is that Cabrera's singing capabilities seem to have gotten worse, completely ruining the head-bopping potentiality of the album. It has the potential to be good, clean, mindless fun but instead it is ear-splitting.

Cabrera's latest single, "Shine On," is probably the best song on the album. It has a nice, rhythmic beat that compliments the high strumming of the acoustic guitar. Cabrera's voice is at its most finely tuned on the album, as he sings: "I know you'll be better off without me when I'm gone / You know you're beautiful / Shine on."

His voice isn't whiny but instead soothing as he sings at a lower pitch than the rest of his songs. There are several different layers of the guitar, one strumming serenely, one plucking an intricate set that repeats throughout the song. In the bridge there is an electric guitar that chimes in with a piano that makes the song much more melodic and almost beautiful, when Cabrera decides to try hitting a high note, effectively ruining any harmony in the song.

"Walking on Water" is supposed to be a peaceful song in which Cabrera shows the ability of his singing voice. Instead it only further proves that he just cannot sing. He tries to hit the high notes but comes out whiny and windy as though he has no real control of his vocal chords. As he sings, "Everything you need / Anything you want to be / And everything you are / Is here right now" the song crescendos with the accompaniment of simple guitar strumming that sounds strikingly similar to the guitar on his other tracks, a tapping on the cymbal and a background chorus that seems to have more talent than the lead singer himself. The song has no real meaning and the words seem to have been recycled from his preceding love songs.

"Find Your Way" is truly piercing when Cabrera starts to sing. He sings the entire song in a soprano voice, but it's clear he is continually trying to reach a higher note than he should even be attempting. The backbeat is slow and, combined with the guitar, would blend better without lead vocals. Cabrera sings, "You could have anything / Go Find your way / So find your way." It leaves listeners to wonder if he actually wrote any of the songs on the album himself. If he did, it not only shows he can't sing, but he isn't really that great with words either.

An album that can only boast one good song in 10 isn't saying a whole lot. In fact, it isn't saying anything.

It seems Cabrera was trying to achieve something more as a pop artist, but he should have been happy with his average pop success.

Grade: F