Looking back at my notes about John Mayer's fourth album, Battle Studies, I noticed one word that consistently appeared underneath each song title. "Pleasant." I never wrote anything awful, and a few times, I made note of a song that seemed to strive for something more than the others did - but more often than not I simply wrote "pleasant." Perhaps that is just typical Mayernomics - pleasant songs with quiet melodies and subtle lyrics - but whether that is a good enough excuse to forgo real musical growth is a question still waiting to be answered.
The album's greatest exercise in pleasantry is Mayer himself. This is a man who has built a notable reputation for himself as a Hollywood womanizer with a sharp tongue and a biting sense of humor. That man is all but absent from Battle Studies, only allowed to make a cameo appearance on the cheeky first single, "Who Says," in which he declares his right to do whatever he wants - drugs, sex and rock n' roll are the over-arching motifs. It is a refreshing change of pace from the rest of the record.
More often than not, Mayer settles into the lyrical theme of heartbreak - paging Jennifer Aniston - and longing, with mixed results. On the album opener, "Heartbreak Warfare," the music takes on a persona of grandeur - only to be followed by the pleasant-enough "All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye," which finds Mayer safely secured in background music territory.
Taylor Swift does her best to lend a hand in "Half of My Heart" but she's left with little to do but harmonize on the chorus. If ever there was a missed opportunity, this is it. Whose decision was it to bring a girl as popular as Swift into the fold ... And then give her nothing to do?
Despite the mistakes, there is no denying Mayer's great voice - and when he allows himself to really let loose on the guitar, it is a real treat. The album's closer, "Friends, Lovers, or Nothing," is a prime example; bringing in a piano with Mayer's electric guitar, the song has a distinct bluesy feel to it, and it packs a subtle punch whereas the majority of the album falls short. Alas, it is a revelation that comes too late in the game, and you are left wishing the rest of the album could have followed suit.
It is not a great album but it is far from being a bad one. Maybe it is too much to ask a man who has traditionally found comfort in the realm of background music to really let loose for an entire record. But that might be selling him too short because when the album really does find a sense of humor or thinks outside the box to create something new, Mayer really excels. There is no question Battle Studies will serve as another pleasant chapter in the book of John Mayer, but here's looking forward to his next.
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