Mayer Hawthorne
Man About Town
(Vagrant/BMG)
Hawthorne returns with another set in his own name, after his duo opus Tuxedo release of last year, nodding to 80s synthy dance material like D-Train. Once again, he has a collection of slyly funky songs, always tuneful and addictive and never over-produced. His records flow along, you find your toes tapping, your hands occasionally clapping and yourself joining in the backing vocals, albeit in my case an octave or two down from the top line.
When encouraging others to give Mayer a listen, it is hard not to reference Hall & Oates and also sometimes Steely Dan, though Hawthorne is less dramatic than the former act can sometimes be and is certainly warmer than the latter. But that’s about the right musical territory and this time more than before I sense the ghost of Marvin Gaye adding good vibes to the songs’ moods. On first few listens there is nothing quite as glorously intoxicating to me as his ‘Reach Out Richard’ on his Where Does This Door Go collection, but that song pushed every button with me for edge, melody, construction and lyrics. I should add that to really get Mayer you HAVE to see him and his Detroit crew smoke the songs..so that’s a hint to get back over here soon, please!
The recordings were made in Paris, LA and in Melbourne, justifying lead cut ‘Man About Town’, with its airy, quasi-gospel vocal layering, dropping us into the slow funk tread and twinkly synths butterflying round the beat of ‘Cosmic Love’ which for all the world sounds like a blend of Curtis Mayfield and Shuggie Otis. If that notion sounds intriguing just get a listen to this cut, as I am not honeying anything here. Fresh as a spring evening, with lovely female chorale.
‘Book Of Broken Hearts’ has a purposeful tempo and yearning vocal, exploring familiar Mayer territory of the broken heart. Nobody else quite distills the pain of a breakup without sounding depressing, it’s a strange thing that’s going on here..maybe his irrepressible optimism (whereas I suffer from the opposite, when composing) but whatever it is, it gives the music a heartbeat. And you just know he’ll get up again….
‘Breakfast In Bed’ is almost an Isleys soundscape and one of the most catchy songs in this set. The horns are liquid but defined – ie recorded very well. A single maybe, AC? ‘Lingerie & Candlewax’ turns out not to be a tale of a late night in the House of Commons but a rhythm-box driven soft churn of a funk tune. Fabulous vocal coasting on damped guitar-chording, more crisp horn charts that don’t overtake the melody’s flow. ‘Fancy Clothes’ has a cool fuzz guitar strut opening and emphatic bass before it skanks on its way in slight delay, showing Hawthorne’s soul voice at its best across a very Steely Dan chorale.
‘The Valley’ has a sprightly keys bed and knowing vocal delivery, the lyric concerning a small-town beauty queen. Lovely melody and maybe my favourite here; ‘Love Like That’ is rockier, with a quacking synth figure and almost staccato keys chord pattern. Chorus as addictive as Pringles. ‘Get You Back’ has a baroque-tinged string arrangement before harder brass punches in, Mayer in soul balladeer mode..hell, you could hear Billy Paul singing this one! ‘Out of Pocket’ has a skittering Family Stone ambience, the horns dancing across the beat and high-range vocal, soft electric piano riding the verses as the bass bubbles under. A good closer.
Hawthorne lists the various drum machines he used on the recordings but he is everywhere, playing keys, guitar, bass, drums, you name it. What a talent! Here, he has made another bedroom record that will also serve as fine driving music. And thanks, amigo for not killing these subtle songs with over-production, your self-editing helps the record seep into the listener’s psyche…and stick around.
Pete Sargeant
Mayer Hawthorne’s new album ‘Man About Town’ is out now on Vagrant/BMG. For more information visit his official website here: http://bit.ly/26dAUQa
