John Mayer has returned with a new set of mellow tunes perfect for relaxing and sipping a cup of coffee.
Mayer’s newest album, “Paradise Valley” features several songs that resemble his usual style of music, but also contains a mix of different styles.
The song that strays the furthest from the usual John Mayer style is “You’re No One ‘Til Someone Lets You Down.” If someone were to listen to the first few seconds of this song, not knowing that John Mayer was the artist, chances are the person would assume it is a country song.
The song’s instrumentals stick with a country styling while mixing with Mayer’s voice. While Mayer does add a bit of a country twang to his voice, his voice doesn’t mix well with the sound of the instrumentals.
While both the instrumentals and the vocals of the song could stand alone and sound decent, mixed together, they don’t work well with one another. It’s a bit like mixing lasagna and ice cream.
Mayer also delivers some collaborations with other artists on “Paradise Valley.” One of these is Katy Perry, who joins Mayer in “Who You Love” and Frank Ocean, who sings vocals on the second version of “Wildfire.”
Two songs in the album are named “Wildfire”; the first is an upbeat intro to the album while the second is a more serious and solemn interlude.
Ocean is featured on the interlude “Wildfire.” Ocean’s vocals and the acoustics of the song harmonize well and the song itself is a bit somber, but it’s a nice song to listen to when reading, winding down or just taking time to reflect.
The album opener, “Wildfire,” has a completely different feel. It’s a bit poppy and will wake you up and put you in a good mood before the rest of the album puts you to sleep – in a good way.
“Who You Love” mostly features Perry harmonizing with Mayer throughout the chorus of the song. However, she does get a verse where she sings without Mayer. Since Perry generally sings more poppy, upbeat songs, it’s a bit odd to hear her voice mixed with the acoustics of a John Mayer song.
However, her harmonies do mix well with Mayer’s during the choruses.
Other likable songs from the album include “Dear Marie” and “On the Way Home.”
Like most of Mayer’s albums, most of the songs on “Paradise Valley” are very mellow and relaxing, and if you listen to it while you’re even slightly tired, chances are, you’ll find yourself drifting off to sleep before you finish the whole album.
It’s definitely recommended if you find yourself having a night where you have trouble getting to sleep or if you’re a bit of an insomniac.
Overall, despite a few subpar songs, “Paradise Valley” is an album most people will enjoy listening to. It has good background music for when you’re trying to study, drink some coffee, read or take a nap.
KHADIJA DJELLOULI
