Release Date: October 11, 2011
If listeners were to see Mayer Hawthorne before hearing his music, there are solid odds they would instantly begin to judge him. Considering his almost prototypical hipster clothing choices and his nerdy, suburban white-boy appearance, one might stop to wonder what over-done, 1980s-influenced electronic music he was trying to force into your ears, but that would be falling into the age-old trap of judging a book by its cover.
Hawthorne is not a hipster. His style is classic because his music and tastes are the same way. He’s an emergent artist whose music is rooted in the sounds of Motown with a flavor that never feels outdated. In effect, he’s the most soulful white boy to croon on a track since Justin Timberlake was still making music.
His first album, A Strange Arrangement (2009), is a solid recording that is great in some spots and good in most others, but while listening to it, it feels like something is missing. There’s lyrical content and tempo change-ups throughout, but there are just not enough deviations from his bread-and-butter soul-ballad style. Hawthorne has fixed this lack of sonic variety with his recent release and major-label debut, How Do You Do.
“Get To Know You” and “You’re Not Ready” sound like lost Marvin Gaye songs. “Finally Falling” fits firmly within the blue-eyed soul genre of music made famous by artists such as Hall and Oates.
“The Walk” is only missing Ed Sullivan’s stage and at least three backup dancers to complete the illusion it creates of being a 1960s soul classic. “Dreaming” is a pop-soul tune that feels a lot like something Brian Wilson would have crafted back in his heyday with The Beach Boys. “Hooked” is so Motown that you begin to wonder if Berry Gordy approved the song himself. “Can’t Stop” features a perfect cameo from Snoop Dogg at his smoothest, with Hawthorne reaching into the low end of his vocal spectrum and a groove that makes it feel like Teddy Riley produced it. There’s obviously something here for everyone.
In finally realizing that not only does Hawthorne write and sing his own lyrics, but also produces these smooth-as-butter tracks, it becomes clear he’s a talent that is poised to set the music world on fire.
With the success of last year’s soulful The Lady Killer from Cee-Lo Green and a renewed public interest in vintage style and sound because of the recent passing of Amy Winehouse, there is an obvious market out there for this album. Whether you’ve got a broken heart in need of mending, are deeply in love with a new flame, or just want some more quality soul music in your life, then there’s nowhere else you should turn.
Mayer Hawthorne – How Do You Do tracklist:
- “Get to Know You”
- “A Long Time”
- “Can’t Stop”
- “Dreaming”
- “The Walk”
- “Finally Falling”
- “Hooked”
- “Stick Around”
- “The News”
- “You Called Me”
- “You’re Not Ready”
- “No Strings”
