the search for everything - wave one - John Mayer

An Ep which hints at Musical Goodness, But also Mediocrity

By: Frank Arigo

     It has been 3 years since John Mayer released new music, and perhaps he should have given it at least a few more months. His last release came back in 2014 in the form of his well-received cover of Beyonce's "XO." While the entire EP is certainly not a flop, the first single off The Search for Everything - Wave One, "Love on the Weekend" is a straight-to-your-mom's-favorite-work-radio-station kind of song. The opening line, "It's a Friday, we finally made it" brings about memories of Rebecca Black, and the lyrics do not get much better from there. Mayer has explored many sounds throughout his career, including folk, blues, rock, and pop, and is no doubt one of the better guitarists of the past fifteen years. However, many do not take him seriously because of previous bubbly romantic pop hits like "Waiting on the World to Change" and "Half of My Heart" as his lyrics and overall sound tend to get quite corny. "Love on the Weekend" is not doing him any favors with these people, and perhaps Mayer has lost a bit of his touch as this track falls short of his early hits he is surely trying to replicate.

     Now that the "Love on the Weekend" bashing is over, the rest of the EP is not bad. "Moving on and Getting Over" is a fairly upbeat R&B break-up track which has a similar sound to "Dreaming With a Broken Heart" off his 2008 album, Continuum, especially in regards to the chorus "But I still can't seem to get you off my mind/ And I do believe I feel you all the time," which he sings in a similar staccato fashion to the 2008 line "'Cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone." I would have liked to hear some more of Mayer's guitar chops, and Mayer admitted to resisting the urge to in a Rolling Stone interview. He wanted a sound more in tune with some of the Grateful Dead songs he learned with Dead and Company over the past two years, "in the world of ensemble guitars." Just because the world now knows you can shred, John, does not mean you should hold back. This song would have been much more powerful if he just let go a little. Perhaps he will when he plays the song live, who knows.

     "Changing" which Mayer credits as the "spiritual centerpiece" of his upcoming album, is a simple song lyrically but one that resonates more than "Love on the Weekend." The bluesy folksy song resembles the sound of his most recent album, from 2013, Paradise Valley and again, Continuum, as he gives listeners what they want: a guitar solo and sing-a-long lyrics. Since Mayer credits this as the spiritual centerpiece, we the listeners can have hope he stays closer to this vibe rather than the froofy pop music.

     The final song of the EP, "You're Gonna Live Forever in Me" reaffirms this hope that the rest of the music Mayer releases in 2017, however many more waves that may be until we get to hear his full length album, will be meaningful music. Upon first listen, the sound of this whistling piano ballad can't help but be compared to Randy Newman (and Rolling Stone agrees). This is a sound from Mayer we have not heard before, but he executes well and leaves the listener wanting more than just this three minute and nine second song. Here's to more music like this, Mr. Mayer.

     One last reason for optimism is the album credits. He worked with the brilliant people from Continuum and the incredible Where the Light Is tour:

Mayer plans to release his new music four songs at a time in 2017 in the lead up to his new album. Not a bad start, so long as he stays away from tunes like "Love on the Weekend" (and works on the weird fan art looking cover).