Today, John Mayer released four songs from his new album “The Search for Everything”. On social media, Mayer has announced that he will be releasing the albums four songs at a time, once a month, until the album is completely released. This is an extremely interesting way to release music for a number of reasons. Firstly, this way of releasing new music allows listeners to relish over a handful of tracks before being able to make a sound judgment of the artist or their new music because they wouldn’t have heard everything. Also, this allows the artist to stay fresh in people’s minds for long amounts of time, which inevitably fights the artists’ fear of being forgotten by fans. The four songs that John Mayer released in “Wave One” are “Moving On and Getting Over”, “Changing”, “Love on the Weekend”, and “You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me”.
The first track “Moving On and Getting Over” displays the groovy, guitar-savvy John Mayer that we all know and love. The song is clearly influenced by genres like R&B, Reggae, and Slow Jam. There is minimal percussion, a melodic bass line, and various guitar licks. Mayer sings in his classic airy and seductive voice. The title of the song alludes to exactly what the song is about. Mayer constantly sings “Moving on and getting over… got to get over” and other phrases like “can’t seem to get you off my mind… ‘Gonna find a new girl”. This is a great intro track but it gets foots tapping and the groove is undeniable. This is an extremely accessible song and connects with listeners of all kinds.
The next song in this bundle is “Changing”. This song is mostly piano-driven and certainly shows John Mayer’s songwriting and solo expertise. This song definitely alludes to his blues and country edge with elements such as acoustic and acoustic guitar. Lyrically, this song is pretty emotional and clever. The song discusses the evolution of a human and also everything that surrounds and is affected by this change. “I met me someone changing. We had some fun changing. Sometimes I wonder if she’ll be the one when I am done changing.”
The third track in “Wave One” is “Love on the Weekend”. Mayer already released this song in November as a single and now he presents it as a part of the album. The song is a great pop tune with minimal chord changes, sweet melodies, and lovey-dovey lyrics. At first some fans, including myself, were not very satisfied with this track being chosen for presentation after not releasing material for three years. Personally, this track is growing on me and I can definitely recognize it as a great love song.
The last song in this batch is “You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me”. Like the second track, this one is definitely showcasing John’s songwriting and solo capabilities. The song is mostly a piano and voice with additions of orchestral instruments. The lyrics are quite poetic with lines like “The great Big Bang and dinosaurs; fiery rain and meteors…the moon’s got a grip on the sea…” This song is very atmospheric and emotional sounding.
Overall, I’m very pleased with this release of new music and I’m definitely excited for the next bundle of songs to be released sometime next month. My favorite song is “Moving On and Getting Over” for its instrumental and groovy qualities, however I really appreciate how creative “You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me”. Needless to say, John Mayer is back.
