John Mayer’s 4th album Battle Studies marks uncharted territory for the artist.
Artwork by Mia Nogueira
With a total of 14 albums (studio/studio-recorded solo albums, JM Trio album, and 8 live albums), John Mayer has made his mark on this decade’s music industry. It’s his solo albums that have defined him as an artist though, each one revealing some of Mayer’s personal feelings about conflict, life, and now in his latest album Battle Studies, love and heartbreak.
These feelings can be evoked when listening to songs on the new album like Heartbreak Warfare and All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye, where Mayer seems to pass on feelings from personal experience or heartbreak to his listeners. As is the case in Heartbreak Warfare: “Lightning strikes inside my chest to keep me up at night, dream of ways to make you understand my pain,” or “…good to know it’s all a game, disappointment has a name, it’s heartbreak warfare,” Mayer portrays a loss of hope for relationships and sees it all as just a game.
Being a long-term John Mayer fan, I anticipate great things from him since that is what he has delivered in his previous albums. After receiving numerous awards ever since the start of his career, Mayer’s expectations are always high from his devoted fans. But even as dedicated listeners, it’s hard to put a thumb on what exactly Mayer delivers in his music that keeps us running back.
Before Mayer’s great solo success, he was in a two-man band with college friend Clay Cook, who urged Mayer to move with him to Atlanta to get their band name out to the public. It didn’t take long for an audience to start following the group around, but Mayer’s desire to take more of a “pop” direction in their music ultimately separated the two; thus began Mayer’s major label success as a solo artist.
In his new album, Mayer followed his craving and leaned more towards the “pop” end of the music spectrum, as opposed to his recent “blues-lovin’” sound by combining aggressive lyrics with a fresh rhythm. Mayer has created a unique sound for himself that is hard to compare to any other artist, mainly through his vocals. His fret work is where similarities to other musicians come in. Dave Matthews is known for his “blues” instrumental sound, and Mayer hasn’t strayed far away from it either. Like I said before though, it’s his vocals that really move him away from the blues realm.
This can be heard in the song Assassin; With a hip beat that starts the song, Mayer speaks of his techniques as a theoretical “heart-stealing” assassin and a woman who was his target, but ended up getting his heart stolen instead, by a girl who “…was an assassin too.”
The Battle Studies Tour has recently been posted, with Mayer performing all the way from Copenhagen to Colorado (March 23, 2010 at the Pepsi Center). I encourage everyone to sample some of Mayer’s old music before listening to the new album; I found the new sound refreshing and intriguing, but only because past albums all had a familiar, consistent rhythm. Battle Studies can be found in stores or on iTunes for $10.99 ($13.99 for the Deluxe Version); Previous albums can also be purchased at these locations for similar prices. I guess it’s true what they say- change isn’t always a bad thing.
