By: Alyssa James
Staff Writer

In 1999, John Mayer made his way onto the scene with his EP “Inside Wants Out.” Over time, he became one of the musicians that had a noticeable presence within the music scene with such songs as “Daughters.”

Mayer had not released any new music since a single in 2014, “XO,” until April 14 when he released his new album, “The Search for Everything.” He partially released this album through two smaller EPs, “Wave One” and “Wave Two.”

For not hearing any new music from him for three years, his style of music has not changed much. It’s not to be expected though, as he is categorized in multiple genres, such as: pop, blues, jazz, country and rock. Despite that, it is definitely an album to listen to in order to chill out and relax.

The first song he released was “Love on the Weekend,” a more country song. It seemed like a weird choice of a song to introduce this album when compared to the rest of the tracks. Having a more a country sound is what set it apart from the other songs, but not necessarily in a good way. It came across as overdone and common.

Through listening to the whole album, the song that stuck out the most was “Emoji of a Wave.” The title in and of itself is an eyecatcher and it added to the song because it incorporates something very familiar to young people: emojis. Along with that, the song builds extremely well for being such a melancholy song. Not once was I bored from listening to it.

One of the more upbeat songs from the album is “In the Blood,” a heartfelt song about the ability to change in life. Along with that, the song “Moving On and Getting Over” has a jazzy feel that would definitely be heard in the back of the coffeeshop.

The album has a total of twelve songs and, when driving, it’s a quick listen. The album ends with the song “You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me.” There’s quite a bit of whistling in it, which is reminiscent of Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” from “Toy Story.” It feels cliché which ultimately left the album on a lower note.

While the album is not the worst, it’s not the best. Other artists experiment and produce albums that have never been heard before, but I think Mayer missed the mark and created an album that is something we have all heard before, and that’s what makes it lacking. The album isn’t bad, it just does not offer anything new, making for a more colorless listen.

Contact the author at ajames16@mail.wou.edu