John Mayer has long exhibited a talent for dexterously navigating assorted musical genres and age demographics. “Once you get past the age of 40, anything can be Elvis. And you have to be very careful that you’re not the guy shaking his head at Elvis.”
One day in late March, John Mayer went online and posted a preview of some new music. The eight-bar fragment, which spotlighted a buoyant electric-guitar-and-keyboard figure laid over a clean and unfussy backbeat, was suitably Mayer-esque. The forum in which he chose to reveal it—TikTok—was not.
Over two months, he’s accumulated more than a million followers. The new music that he teased on TikTok back in March will now be out as a single, “Last Train Home,” on June 4. It will be followed, on July 16, by the companion album, “Sob Rock,” his first in four years and eighth overall. There’s a distinct 1980s soft-rock vibe lurking within its melodies and grooves. “I asked myself, ‘What music makes me feel like everything’s going to be OK?’ ” Mr. Mayer says. “And it’s the music I listened to growing up in the ‘80s. There’s a security-blanket aspect about that sound that reminds me of a safer time.”
Aside from a solo career that’s led to multiple Platinum-certified albums and singles, seven Grammys and his own PRS signature guitar model, Mr. Mayer is a first-call collaborator when newer artists ranging from Leon Bridges to Khalid to Maren Morris are looking to add a certain something—usually a subtly bluesy and highly melodic guitar accompaniment—to a track. With Dead & Company, he’s a pivotal member, but also the youngest participant by some years.
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