Mayer Hawthorne – “A Strange Arrangement” Review

There are two songs on Mayer Hawthorne’s debut album worthy of the hype surrounding this Jew from Cali: Make Her Mine, a sweetly simple tune about trying to romance a girl who lives in the wealthy part of town, and the new record holder for most apostrophes in a song title, Your Easy Lovin’ Ain’t Pleasin’ Nothin’. Download these two feel-good tracks and you’re all set.

Mr. Hawthorne will remind you of someone. For me, it’s G. Love. Fun for a few songs, but dull over the course of an entire album. The disc is heavily influenced by soul giants such as Curtis Mayfield and the Isley Brothers, to the point of being derivative. There’s nothing new going on here, and nothing all that interesting, aside from the above-mentioned songs, which aren’t super original, just happen to hit a good mark.

While Mr. Hawthorne, born Andrew Mayer Cohen, probably puts on a pleasing live show, the album is too produced and often not loose enough to allow for any warm soul to sneak in. Better to throw on a Stevie Wonder record and call it a day.

MC Aaron

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