 "Photo: Courtesy of MCT Campus")
For just under a decade now, singer-songwriter John Mayer has graced both fans and pundits alike with his seemingly endless musical talents ranging from bubble-pop hits to laid back blues beats. Despite his sometimes haggard appearance and highly publicized troubled personal life, Mayer has amassed over thirteen Grammy awards, numerous viewers choice awards and has inspired countless coffee shop solo artists around the country.
Keeping with soft and subtle lyrical melodies, a classic of Mayer’s; Battle Studies, Mayer’s fourth album from Colombia records, highlights his very personal, yet very publicized break up with girlfriend Jennifer Aniston. In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, Mayer said that although he never considered writing a concept album that follows one general theme, Battle Studies manifested into one.
“The record starts out sort of like the sun is out, and then it gets darker, and then the sun comes back out at the end,” Mayer told Rolling Stone. “It’s heartbreak warfare…these songs are purposefully meant to be aggressive”, he added.
Although the songs might have an aggressive intent, the album itself is anything but. In many ways, Battle Studies is one dimensional, lacking catchy songs and a musical flavor. With previous albums such as Continuum and Room For Squares, Mayer mixed his pop roots with soul sounds to create a unique work, Battle Studies, however, is just yet another album focusing on heartbreak, loss and lessons learned; all of which I already have enough of on my iPod.
Battle Studies for me personally has been a huge let down. In following Mayer since his meager beginnings at small Atlanta coffee shops to his current superstardom, I feel that Mayer simply pieced together a few thoughts, added music, and put it out into the mainstream market for his latest album.
Leah Keith, English major, UNC Greensboro student and longtime fan of John Mayer felt similar disappointment after listening to the album a few times. “I feel like John Mayer needed some money, wrote a few song about breaking up and made an album out of it,” Keith explained. “I’m very disappointed…maybe if I were more melancholy and going through a break up I could relate more,” she concluded.
Despite the album being a disappointment, shying from the typical John Mayer style, if you’re a fan of Mayer like I am, you’ll at least want it for you collection, if for nothing else. Don’t take this writer’s interpretation of the album alone; make sure you check out John Mayer’s latest album, Battle Studies available wherever CDs are sold.
Be the first to comment on this article!