After a four-year break, the singer returns to his bluesy roots with the first instalment in a monthly EP series.
John Mayer/ The Search for Everything: Wave One
Last time we were treated to a full-length album by John Mayer was back in 2013 when he released folk rock-leaning Paradise Valley. Now, after having covered Beyonce's XO and spent the last few years touring with Dead & Company, he's back with The Search for Everything: Wave One, an EP containing the first four new songs from his forthcoming seventh studio album. Working (and reuniting) with Grammy Award-winning producer Chad Franscoviak who previously worked with Mayer on Continuum and Battle Studies, he has his sights set on bringing back the sound a lot of his fans first loved him for.
Wave One gets things started with Moving On and Getting Over, a swaying opener that finds him in the process of getting over a former lover. "For all my running, I can understand/I'm one text away from being back again," he croons in familiar falsetto alongside vocal harmonies. "But I'm moving on and I'm getting over." With its melodic electric guitar, soft-funk bass and a flurry of kick drums, this is the closest to the overall vibes of Continuum.
Next up is Changing, a simple piano ballad that paints Mayer as a work in progress. "I am not done changing/Out on the run, changing/I may be old and I may be young/But I am not done changing," he sings in the opening verse which also doubles as a chorus. Considering his two-decade career punctuated with a media controversy and health issues, the track is by far the most personal thing on this release.
Lead single Love on the Weekend kicks off with a bright guitar reverb, which echoes the happy sentiment of the lyrics about meeting with a love interest and going away for the weekend ("You be the DJ, I'll be the driver/You put your feet up in the getaway car/I'm flying fast like a wanted man … And I'll be dreamin' of the next time we can go/Into another serotonin overflow"). The wind-in-the-hair breeziness of it all harkens back to the simpler times, such as his 2001 debut Room for Squares.
You're Gonna Live Forever in Me concludes the set with a good slice of wistfulness, thanks in part to the whistling accompanied by acoustic strings and piano. Here he imagines an apocalyptic scenario ("A great big bang and dinosaurs/Fiery raining meteors/It all ends unfortunately") and how it won't deter his commitment to that special someone ("But you're gonna live forever in me/I guarantee, just wait and see").
Described by Mayer himself as "sort of like a mixtape of all the music that inspires [him] and all the styles that [he's] made before", the Wave One EP couldn't be far from that truth. If the latter-day John Mayer didn't do much for you, this batch of four new cuts should serve as a pleasant reminder of why you fell in love with his music in the first place.
THE PLAYLIST
Primal Beasts / Is It Me?
On their debut cut Is It Me?, Bangkok's up-and-coming duo Primal Beasts weave elements of classic UK garage with a melodic '90s house groove and soulful vocals. "Make me your eyes/ Make me your smile/ Make me your body," the voice implores. "Make me your move/ Make me your groove/ Make me your feeling." Complete with a clap-happy chorus and a lite-dubstep breakdown, the track is an infectious dance jam that readily recalls artists like Disclosure, Duke Dumont and even Sam Smith.
Young Fathers (feat. Leith Congregational Choir) / Only God Knows
Scottish Mercury Prize-winning experimental hip-hop outfit Young Fathers join forces with the Leith Congregational Choir for Only God Knows, one of six original compositions included on the soundtrack of T2 Trainspotting, Danny Boyle's long-awaited sequel to his 1996 cult classic. "God knows, things we believe in/ God knows it's time for the peace and/ God knows the kids in the street with their eyes on the leaders," vocalist G Hastings half-sings, half-shouts his way through the frantic punk-inflected electronic backdrop.
Father John Misty / Pure Comedy
Speaking of his piano-driven new cut, Father John Misty (real name Josh Tillman) insists that "there's nothing political about Pure Comedy." For all we know, the guy could just be pulling our legs. Not only is the song purely political, it also offers astute observations on human idiosyncrasies, or what he terms "the comedy of man", ranging from the obstetrical dilemma and anthropocentrism to religions and existentialism. "And how's this for irony, their idea of being free is a prison of beliefs/ That they never ever have to leave," he sings before eventually closing with an ambivalent denouement, "I hate to say it, but each other's all we got."
MILCK / Quiet
The Women's March in DC last month saw a soul-stirring display of peaceful solidarity. One of the most inspiring things to come out of that gathering was a flash mob choir performing MILCK's Quiet. The song is based on the LA singer-songwriter's own experiences of overcoming physical and sexual abuse and the pressures to conform to society's and media's standards of beauty. "Put on your face/ Know your place/ Shut up and smile don't spread your legs/ I could do that," goes the opening verse of this empowering anthem as it builds to a satisfyingly orchestral chorus, "I can't keep quiet … A one woman riot/ I can't keep quiet for anyone, anymore."
Joe Goddard / Music Is The Answer
As the song Quiet above demonstrates how music has the panacean power to heal and unite, Joe Goddard's new single Music is the Answer proposes to do the same. Lifted from Goddard's forthcoming solo album Electric Lines, the dark-hued, house-leaning track finds the Hot Chip co-frontman linking up with London singer-songwriter Jess Mills for some cathartic guest vocals: "You take me higher still/ And you'll always will/ You take me higher still/ You can heal my heart."
