Mayer Hawthorne is quite the new comer with quite the retro sound. Straight out of Detroit, this former DJ, multi instrumentalist, and white boy new-soul pioneer has made one of the freshest albums of the year with his debut LP A Strange Arrangement. Listening to this album is like taking a trip back in time when Motown was king, acts like Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and The Supremes topped the charts, AM radio blasted through car stereos and everyone was a jive turkey.
Much of this album is filled with fairly low key groove ballads that find Mr. Hawthorne crooning to an unnamed lover. The opening title track sets the mood for the whole record. "I never thought you would decide the grass was greener on the other side of love's divide" he sings with a sorrowful smile on top of funky horns and a soulful keyboard full of heartbreak.
"Maybe So Maybe No" is another stand out tune that finds Hawthorne sounding like the best Otis Redding wannabe in history. Here a dreamy keyboard sequence gives way to one of the most upbeat songs on the album.
"The Ills" is also worth mentioning as it is the fastest paced song offered for your listening pleasure. It's also the second best tune on the record.
Hawthorne begs a certain lady friend to stop being such a damn sexy tease on "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'", the best song on Arrangement. Smokey Robinson and Jackie Wilson should and would be proud of this kid because their finger prints are all over this track. The beat is akin to a toned down version of Wilson's "Higher & Higher" while the soul tinged falsettos are copyrighted by Mr. Robinson.
For all the praise this album deserves that's not to say that it's perfect. "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out" and "Make Her Mine" are both a tad too cheesy for their own good. However that doesn't mean that the groove isn't there. Mr. Hawthorne is just having a a little too much fun to the point of silliness.
Hawthorne plays about 90 percent of the instruments on Arrangement and also serves as producer. He succeeds tremendously at both roles. Each track has just enough ear candy to keep you hooked yet not overwhelm you. The production value is stellar as well. Hawthorne keeps all of his songs perfectly toned down so as to set the mood just right.
His falsetto can seem to be a bit forced from time to time and tend to become tiresome by the end of the album. However with the album coming in at a paltry 34 minutes, Hawthorne never really out lasts his welcome.
This up and comer has already performed with The Roots caught the attention of acts Justin Timberlake and John Mayer who proclaimed A Strange Arrangement as the best album of the year. He took the words right out of my mouth.
Grade: A-
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