Sob Rock

The suave, undeniable “New Light” sounds no less relevant today than it did [in 2018], and its inclusion proves that Mayer can work at his own pace—pandemics be damned. None of this is to suggest that Sob Rock, his eighth studio album, is thoughtless.

In fact, its vision is so complete and confident that it pretty much writes its own review. (Judging by the title, bargain bin stickers on the cover, and fake pull-quotes on the merch, the tone is not so enthusiastic.) To make this music, Mayer gave himself a prompt. Instead of an artist who dominated VH1 and frat houses in the early 2000s, what if he’d emerged during the classic rock era and found himself, decades later, as a late-career musician attempting to update his sound? “Pretend someone made a record in 1988 and shelved it,” he explained, “and it was just found this year.” It’s an intriguing concept...

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Pitchfork
John Mayer - Sob Rock Review