John Mayer is one of those artists I just don't get: tons of hype, radio play, promotion, heavily produced album, etc. And the end result? A halfway decent record of indie rock crossed with muzak.

Though Mayer himself has a halfway decent voice, pretty good lyrics, and basic rhythms that could have been made into a really good indie-folk record, the album as a whole doesn't come close to living up to any of the "indie rock god" hype. The backing rhythms on several on the songs sound like a combination of Casio keyboard demo songs and cruise ship music. The production, though overdone, does actually fit the songs quite well; the problem is the added instrumentation brings out the worst moments of, let's say, Sting or Cher's backing bands from the late 80's. Though not in and of itself bad, it is the farthest thing from a good indie record as you can get.

So let's look at what it's good for: for example, Track 5, "Come Back to Bed", is a perfect song for a high school prom slow dance, while the opening tracks would be perfect for cocktails on the Lido Deck of a Carnival cruise ship. Many of the tracks would be good for movie background use, perhaps in American Pie 4 or the next teen blockbuster; Meyar should definitely give John Hughes a call...

If you're a fan of Dave Matthews or Hootie and the Blowfish, you may enjoy this one. If you're an indie rock kid who is curious about all the hype the indie press has pushed on this, I suggest saving your premium label dollars and pick up couple older Bright Eyes records.

-Dave Mandell