Review: Mayer Hawthorne – Man About Town

Mayer Hawthorne’s new album is entitled Man About Town. A more appropriate title, for those unfamiliar with his work, may have been The Thief. The entire album dances the line between flattery and flat out copycatting. In the first three tracks you’ll hear Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Barry White’s Can’t Get Enough, and Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. Some will call it musical genius, others theft. Call it what you like, anyone who loves the search, like Hawthorne himself, will appreciate this album. Play his tracks on top of these classics and you’ll see Hawthorne’s DJ brain setting up crossovers throughout. This will help it blow up on radio as much as on the dance floor, where you normally wouldn’t find tracks like these today.

Mayer Hawthorne’s history as a DJ dates back to his youth. Growing up in Michigan during the 80s, his influences included Motown legends as well as a new generation of rappers and artists hot in the sampling scene. He credits J Dilla for making him hunt for the most obscure hooks to find the root of their melodies. DJing for a decade before ever taking over the mic, Hawthorne still spins today, calling it his security blanket. Man About Town shows that you can take the DJ out of the booth but you can’t take the natural instincts of a DJ out of the music they produce.

According to Hawthorne “This is a real personal record”. Man About Town is “about living in the big city, going to all the coolest parties and events and being surrounded by people all the time but still being incredibly lonely”. Perhaps that is why he chose to go back to self-producing for his sixth album (fourth solo album).

Mayer Hawthorne has the ability to find a good hook and play it just long enough to make it worthy of being repeated. At the same time, he seems to have little to write about. Perhaps that’s what makes the album most personal. That loneliness in the midst of the party makes complete sense. When you’re only experiencing the superficial, it is hard to get to the meat of living. This is a theme that LA musicians regularly repeat, from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Californication all the way back to the Eagles’ Hotel California.

Man About Town’s lyrics are fluffy and reminiscent of the 70s, so it makes sense that the songs follow those melodies. Filled with some nice summer loving jams, it’s a syrupy sappy love, so sweet your teeth might ache. If you’re looking to flash back, or wax nostalgic with songs your parents have never heard of but will think are their own, then Man About Town is your album.

Breakfast In Bed is another stolen track. If you know the original, write me. Aside from the earworm, I enjoyed this one a great deal. However, like the 70s classics it emulates, the lyrics are long on repetition. Fancy Clothes is 80s meets reggae. The Valley reminds me of the best of the 70s hippie movement. While Out Of Pocket is very JT channeling MJ at the start.

The length of Man About Town, like so many of the songs within it, is perfectly timed. One song more would have taken it into the realm of background music but the songs are mixed in a way that keeps your brain engaged. The album finishes at a moment where you would want to move on from it if it weren’t already ending on its own.

If film noir is your thing then the videos that accompany this album will be your bonus materials. Three of the songs follow a trilogy video that has Hawthorne playing the stylish 1940s PI. Like many of the videos he has created, Hawthorne plays a hero of yesteryear. From the misunderstood geek to Gatsby, and now true crime detective, it seems Hawthorne works really hard to create a specific throwback style that masks his limitations. I’m just not sure his zoot-suiting ways have not already become passe. No matter the motivation, you can’t help but enjoy the artistry if you’re a fan of the eras he’s emulating. Historians of music will appreciate his efforts as much as Tinseltown enthusiasts.

 
Written by Sam Gilman

Sam I. Gilman is a music journalist who has been involved with the industry as a DJ, voice-over talent and on-air host for radio and TV stations around the globe. www.gilmansays.com

 
Author’s rating for Man About Town

Pop Magazine’s official rating for Man About Town

Rating key
MASTERPIECE a must-have
SUPERB for heavy rotation
EXCELLENT a great achievement
VERY GOOD a respectable result
GOOD worth checking out
FAIR an average outcome
WEAK not convincing stuff
BAD an underwhelming effort
VERY BAD quite a waste
FAIL a total failure