All of this and more comes through in the twelve tracks on his debut album, a nicely produced and well-written beginning for a promising new star. The first single, "On the Way Down", is a radio-friendly confessional about finding his faith during a difficult time though it could just as easily be about falling in love. Before he even becomes a household name, he philosophizes about how fame and popularity won’t change him in the title track, and when he sings "Coming in with nothing / I’m leaving with the same / it's all inside / coming with nothing / the only thing that stays / is here in side" you believe his sincerity despite how cheesy the words might seem.

As true of most pop music, the subject of love seeps into most of the songs, allowing Cabrera to give his own views of romance and heartbreak. The simple "True" has a slow luxurious beat beneath his understated guitar playing all while his silky smooth voice floats along with his declaration of weakness for love. It's an incredibly romantic song, almost painfully earnest, that easily makes a crowd of girls swoon whenever it's played live. Covering a slightly more painful version of love, "Exit to Exit" could easily be mistaken for a younger, more rebellious version of John Mayer's "Why Georgia" until you realize it's not just about finding yourself, but rather it's about being confused as to where to go after finding out your significant other has been cheating.

Both "Shame on Me" and the opening "Let's Take Our Time" focus on distraction by the opposite sex. "Shame on Me" has Cabrera confessing his secret desire to give into his own personal fantasies while he rocks out with a hypnotic guitar riff that breaks down into a stripped musical interlude midway through the incredibly catchy song. The later has him a little more careful about both his actions and words, claiming that "I don’t want this to die / Don’t want to ever forget this night / To hurry you would be a crime / Let's take our time". If the lyrics and rhythm doesn’t suck you in, the repetitive piano hidden beneath all else and the slightly predictable electric guitar of the chorus will.

The three best songs, however, have little to do with each other. The lyrical metaphors and hooks of "40 Kinds of Sadness" show the potential creativity Cabrera could grow into with future albums. Just the lines "I don’t know why it's not enough / I miss you all the time / And I know you kinda like it" shows both his vulnerability and his charming sense of humor that makes him so attractive to the similar pop audience as both the Simpson girls, whereas the musicality and addictiveness reaches a much further audience. The mournful "She's", though perhaps horribly titled, isn’t so much innovative with subject matter, but rather shows his diversity of emotion and capability to carry a slow paced, emotional song without seeming over the top or insincere. Then there's the closer, "Blind Sight", which has the best instrumentation of the album – complete with saxophone – as well as the best demonstration of Cabrera's vocal range and power. The only song on the album brought in from his early years, it's a powerful song about not wasting time and living life to the fullest.

Cabrera never tries to hide his eagerness or his diversity, flowing from one style to the next, incorporating his earlier influences of Paul Simon and even more so of Johnny Rzeznik without compromising his own creativity, but it's his creativity as a writer that he's still yet to completely grow into. At moments, Take It All Away has lyrics that verge on predictable, if not laughable, but the passion and emotion makes the songs memorable and worthy of attention. Though he hasn’t reached the level of lyrical creativity of either Mayer or Mraz, there are glimpses of potential hiding beneath this album of radio-friendly pop if only he realizes that he doesn’t have to cater to just a Simpson-friendly audience.