John Mayer
evokes the hushed professionalism of '80s adult contemporary rock on his eighth studio album, 2021's
Sob Rock
.
Mayer
has always worn his influences on his sleeve, often bringing together the bluesy fretwork of
Eric Clapton
with the yearning singer/songwriter sincerity of
James Taylor
. He's also made no secret of how much the sound of mid- and late-'80s pop/rock has informed his own work, and albums like 2006's Grammy-winning
Continuum
and 2012's
Born and Raised
have found him drawing upon the work of icons like
Sting
,
Peter Gabriel
, and
Neil Young
. Once again working with legendary producer
Don Was
(who helmed
),
has crafted an album that purposefully sounds like it could have been released anytime between 1985 and 1990. It's a gauzy, teal-toned throwback aesthetic that
extends to the album's visuals, including a dusky blue LP cover photo (some released replete with vintage-appropriate "The Nice Price" sticker in bubbly Cooper font). Given the warm, analog-sounding synths of "The Last Train Home" and the
Fleetwood Mac
-isms of "New Light," one could easily listen to
and imagine
fitting into a group like
the Traveling Wilburys
or showing up at Live Aid 1985 to sit in with
Dire Straits
. There are several stand-out tracks here, including the aforementioned "The Last Train Home" and the
Bruce Hornsby
-esque "Shot in the Dark" that stick in your head in the way the best of
's work often does. ~ Matt Collar