John Mayer fans, you can officially call off the search for new music! The talented singer, songwriter, and guitarist released his first new album since 2013. John Mayer is a seven-time Grammy Award Winner and has sold more than 30 million records worldwide.
The Search for Everything was released in stages, called “waves.” According to an interview with Charlie Rose, Mayer stated, “I believe in the songs so much that I thought they deserve to be seen without distraction from either the barrier to entry of so many songs all at once, or other music coming in and sort of – or there being so many songs – songs that aren’t that great, a couple of songs that are, and I felt like the boldest thing I could do was say I think I did it and take a look at these four at a time.” The album is a compilation of two four-track EPs that were released within the past couple of months, and then four unreleased tracks. What is so pleasant about this album is the combination of genres: pop, folk, and rock blended with a touch of blues and jazz. The Search for Everything portrays his strong instrumental talent. The album was released in its entirety on April 14th.
It’s pretty easy to see that The Search for Everything is a breakup album. Nearly every song addresses either a lost love, emotional development, and even family genes. During the slightly heartbreaking “In the Blood”, Mayer asks, “How much of my mother has my mother left in me?” “What about this feeling that I’m never good enough? Will it wash out in the water, or is it always in the blood?” Certain tracks like this make us realize that Mayer has spent the past couple of years reflecting on his life, making this his most deeply personal album he has ever released.
The day his album dropped, Mayer took to Twitter to tell his fans: “And that ends an era. August ’14-April ’17. I made this record for *you*. May you hear and see and feel yourself in these songs.”
From start to finish, this album definitely makes us feel. We can feel the heartache in tracks like “Still Feel Like Your Man”, “Rosie”, “Helpless”, and “You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me.” Mayer gives us a feel-good song with “Love on the Weekend.” He self-reflects and discusses the fear of “becoming our parents” in his track “In the Blood.” “Never on the Day You Leave” talks about lost love, but “Moving On and Getting Over” celebrates the positives of moving on. He even gives us a fully instrumental song that allows us to create our own interpretation.
In The Search for Everything, John Mayer truly opens his heart to his fans for the first time since Room for Squares, another very personal album. Perhaps the message of this album is to give us insight on his journey of loving and losing someone, and how this experience can open your eyes and help you become the person you want to be, rather than letting it tear you down.