John Mayer is heartbroken again. After dabbling in the art of despondency on his previous album Continuum with tracks such as “Dreaming with a Broken Heart” and “In Repair,” he returns sounding more damaged than ever on his fourth studio release, Battle Studies.
A rough split with Jennifer Aniston is rumored to be the source of the distress Mayer expresses on Battle Studies. Whether or not this is true or, there’s enough misery and regret in the album to last at least two bad breakups. Mayer even described the album as a “heartbreak handbook” during a live show last June.
Fans of Mayer have been salivating for Battle Studies, as it’s been about three years since Continuum dropped. For the most part, they will probably not be disappointed with the singer/songwriter’s latest record. The LP contains a few bad seeds, but there are also songs destined to be Mayer classics.
The album is a shift away from the bluesier Continuum. Mayer’s new material ventures a little into the realm of country music with songs such as “Who Says” and “Half of My Heart.” It’s surprising, but Mayer can pull it off. However, he doesn’t lose all of his blues. He covers Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” midway through the album in an unexpected turn.
With 11 songs totaling 46 minutes of music, this record is on the short side. Its brevity is probably for the best, as there are already enough filler songs on the album. The LP was recorded in a Los Angeles home Mayer converted into a studio, and the making of it was well-documented on his blog.
Battle Studies opens with a healthy amount of momentum. Mayer made the world’s first-ever augmented reality music video for “Heartbreak Warfare,” the album’s first track. Augmented reality is an interesting innovation that in short, utilizes a web cam to create a hologram on a computer screen.
“Heartbreak Warfare” is a good choice as an opener, as it embodies the album. “Clouds of sulfur in the air, bombs are falling everywhere, it’s heartbreak warfare/ Once you want it to begin, no one really ever wins,” Mayer laments. The theme of love as a battle pops up throughout the album, succeeding in this case and failing in others.
“Assassin” is one of these unfortunate attempts. It’s a somewhat clever yet cheesy song that uses competing hitmen as a metaphor for meaningless one-night stands. Sounds weird, but it works in some parts; “You get in, and then you get done/ And you get gone.”
But such a fictive song is a little out of place alongside the rest of the album’s emotional, relatable lyrics. When Mayer sings, “I’m an assassin, and I had a job to do/ Little did I know that girl was an assassin too” all other positive aspects of the song, are completely obliterated.
John Mayer debuted “Who Says” as a single in October. As a first single, it isn’t very representative of the album. In fact, it is downright puzzling as to why he chose to release it early. The first line, “Who says I can’t get stoned,” is supposed to be surprising. However, Mayer took away the shock value by saying in an Oct. 27 Rolling Stone interview the line is supposed to celebrate freedom, not marijuana. Pot references aside, “Who Says” is a pretty weak song, with a tired theme and a mediocre hook.
Taylor Swift makes a nominal appearance on Battle Studies, lending her youthful voice to “Half of My Heart”— a country-esque song about trying to move on after a breakup. The track is actually pretty good, although it would’ve been better if Swift sang more than backup vocals.
“Do You Know Me” gives a breath of hope to an otherwise mopey album. The last song, “Friends, Lovers, or Nothing” is definitely a keeper in the vein of “Daughters” off 2003’s Heavier Things. It goes off into a “Hey Jude”-ish tangent at the end — an interesting twist.
The rest of the songs on the album are pretty forgettable. “Perfectly Lonely” and “War of My Life” don’t give the record any more substance. And although his cover of “Crossroads” is a lot of fun, it’s merely a valuable distraction that does not really fit in with the other tracks.
But Mayer is generally consistent. He delivers a few worthy tracks on Battle Studies, although they need to be weeded out from the mundane songs that clutter it.
mwildman@umd.edu
RATING: 3 stars out of 5
