John Mayer is the darling child for "sorority pop". He sure knows how to make the ladies weak at the knees with those soft eyes, hair perfectly unkempt to make you think he doesn't give a shit, a soulful "new" take on soft rock, bad boy tattoos and Oh faces during guitar solos that could make a lumberjack change his underwear.All of his catalog feels right at home softly coming through the speakers of Starbucks while you sip your coffee and text on your iPhone to the friends you think you have. Whether it's "No Such Thing", "Your Body Is A Wonderland", "Daughters" or "Waiting on the World to Change", Mayer, much like Jack Johnson, has always kept his music on the safe side. His new album Battle Studiesis no exception.
This album was born on out Mayer's tabloid-tastic relationships over the past few years. Thanks to rounds with Jessica Simpson, Minka Kelly and Jennifer Aniston his emotions have been spent, his heart broken and his musical sensibilities unchanged. I almost feel sorry for the poor guy - almost.
"The album... incorporates a lot of the lessons, a lot of the observations, and a little bit of advice," Mayer says about the record. "Like a handbook, like a heartbreak handbook." Too bad this album plays off like A Hitchhiker's Guide to a Rock Star's Muddled Self Therapy.
"Heartbreak Warfare" opens the album sounding eerily like a U2 song with echoing guitar parts riding on top of a typical soft rock beat. "Clouds of sulfur in the air, bombs are falling everywhere" Mayer sings in his typical coo. The lyrics paint an ugly picture of a good thing gone sour yet the music doesn't reflect it. Mayer wants to have his cake and eat it too.
He tries to cover all his bases again on "Assassin" which again leads to mixed results. Minimalist verses and sultry backing vocals try desperately to meld with "rawkin" choruses and fuzzy guitar flourishes. "I was a killer, was the best they'd ever seen." Mayer claims several times. Didn't Mohammed Ali retire?
The most misplaced track on the record is a cover of Robert Johnson's classic "Crossroads". Instead of an organic blues cover, the tune comes off as a forced effort where Mayer simply finds an excuse to jam with his faceless backing group. Mayer becomes tired with his self imposed restrictions on his music halfway through the record and simply gets his pseudo groove on. Nice try but no pudding.
A close second for most awkward moment goes to "Half of My Heart" where Taylor Swift makes an appearance. Mayer shows how much of an opportunist he really is. You think the current pop queen would have been on the album if she wasn't everywhere at once? If Miss Swift was under 18 I'd say Mayer should be investigated for solicitation of a minor.
There are still a few quality songs on Battle Studies. "Who Says", the current single, is a soft ditty where he sings about getting high and simply cutting off from the world. "I don't remember you looking any better - but then again I don't remember you" Mayer sings to an unknown pretty face (what a charming devil). When first hearing this song on the radio a few weeks back I was actually surprised - a John Mayer song that didn't piss me off at all?
"Do You Know Me" and "War of My Life" are other notable songs where Mayer finds a way to perfectly manage his vision and ideas. However many Mayer fans would most likely listen to his older tunes that are a bit more memorable and stay with the listener longer.
Mayer says the album was a new direction for him. However instead of forging a new path, it seems as if he picks and chooses other parts of his career and tries to mesh them into some kind of Frankenstein. He wants so badly to escape the formula of his first 3 albums, yet he continues to not take risks and stick to what he knows works - even if it doesn't always do so.
Battle Studies finds Mayer trying to write a Blood on the Tracks for generation Hollister. Instead his efforts have turned into Adventures in Mishandled Dentist Music.
Grade: C
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