As talented as Bob Schneider has shown himself to be, he's still a man struggling to find his own sound.

On much of I'm Good Now, the Austin-based singer/songwriter's second album, Schneider's brand of guitar-driven pop rock can't help but earn comparisons to contemporaries Pete Yorn or John Mayer.

It's on the few tracks where Schneider branches out that he really leaves his mark. Album highlight "C'mon Baby," with its crunching guitar riffs and angst-ridden screams, might be the best song Nirvana never recorded.

A dark spiral of romance gone wrong ("The Bridge Builders") and a quirky country rap ("I'm Good Now") also highlight their creator's wide-ranging talents.

Those three jewels aside, the rest of I'm Good Now is rife with tame, mid-tempo ditties that fade from memory once the stereo gets switched off. Schneider's equally gruff and velvety vocal, along with his writing ability, should help him avoid a similar fate. But this disc will probably stand as one of the weaker moments in his noteworthy career.

Grade: C