John Mayer’s new album is finally here. I’ve been waiting for what seems like ages and now its filling my ears with sweet melodies and jamming guitar riffs. Being a huge fan of John Mayer, I will try and make this review as least biased as possible.

The record is titled “Battle Studies”, Mayer’s fourth studio album and let me start by saying it’s great! oh yeah wait, I was trying to set aside my bias, Oops. Battle Studies consists of 11 tracks, 12 for those who pre-ordered it thru iTunes, with the bonus exclusive track “I’m on Fire”, a Bruce Springsteen cover. The album starts off with the song “Heartbreak Warfare”, which is a great melodic tune that keeps you singing along like much of his older stuff, it has a solid beat and Mayer’s soft angelic voice carries thru only to be complemented by some smooth natural guitar riffs. The album continues along with the track “All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye”, and while I did not really like this song at first, it has begun to grow on me. “Half of my Heart”, “Perfectly Lonely”, and “Assassin” follow and have grown to be my favorite tracks. That’s not to say the others aren’t great as well. “Who Says”, his first single off the new cd, contains lyrics that are not so much conventional but do take a stand and reinforce my idea that John Mayer is one of the coolest people in the spotlight nowadays. Stating that he’s THE MAN is just a gross understatement. The following tracks on the album are all great in their own way as well. I have yet to find a song on here that I dislike.

Compared to his other works, this album may come off at first as lacking, but after a couple listens it is clear that this one is just as good. If you were to take the statement “You know, it’s really technically proficient but there’s no heart or soul in it,” and reverse it, I think that would explain Battle Studies in a nutshell. As this may seem like a negative thing to point out, let us not forget the technically proficient masterpiece that was his previous album, Continuum. Packed with meaning and coming seemingly from the heart it is obvious that John Mayer took a different path when writing this record. John Mayer is by no means lacking in musical ability, talent, or ideas; if anything he is booming with them. This album shows his diversity and ability to create various genres of music all while staying true to his own unique style that is growing classic, at least to me, day by day.

I think John Mayer summed it up best himself – “I approach music like a director doing a period piece; where Continuum was R&B and Soul, Battle Studies was written with the timelessness of Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young in mind. The melodies and message are concise and from-the-gut with the efficiency of simplicity.” Look out Bruce, there may soon be a new “boss” in town.