Battle Studies
John Mayer's Battle Studies is his fourth album. From his previous albums he has shown talent both vocally and on the guitar. Battle Studies is a withdrawal from his soulful/blues sound of Continuum and moves towards very soft rock/easy listening but does it work?
Battle Studies has a good start with the song "Friends, Lover Or Nothing." It has an easy sound with great lyrics and a nice melody. Everything in the song seems to complement each sound and lyric. Just when you may think the songs in it presents a fine bridge and rhythm to end the lyrics and the song. This sound basically set the sound for the whole album. The sound doesn't really travel away from this easy listening sound. "Perfectly Lonely" picks up the tempo but keeps the easy listening feel. The lyrics grab attention and the listeners can feel themselves swaying, bobbing along. "Who Says" has had some radio play and I like the simple sound, easy strum on the guitar and the brush sound given to the drum. I really like the line in this song, " I don't remember you looking any better but then again I don't remember you."
The song "Assassin" sounds more experimental with instruments. The music follows the lyrics, which are more storytelling. The chorus is held off to give the message and the rest of the song is the aftermath. "Do You Know Me" has a dreamy sound to it but I found it to short. When it ended I was left with it feeling uncompleted.
The remake of Eric Clapton's "Crossroads" has a bluesy reverberation with a funky guitar but it's nowhere near the original. "Half Of My Heart" features Taylor Swift but Swift has nothing to offer except singing one line of the song and maybe one harmony with Mayer. The other songs are medium or slow tempo and start to sound the same.
The record leaves a bland pop sound and echoes incompleteness. It is the usual John Mayer lyric with a simple sound. The album sounds like a search to fine something different and landing a lot of the same. I was shocked by how short the album was time wise. For such a published singer and anticipated album I expected more.