Album Review: Mayer Hawthorne - Where Does This Door Go

The legend of soul singer-by-accident Mayer Hawthorne grows and grows. Over the course of his first two albums, A Strange Arrangement and How Do You Do, the Californian nailed the white boy-does-Motown-and-a-little-Stax sound, living out his frustrated soulman fantasies to the fullest. Now the novelty has worn off somewhat he spreads his wings on this new set, Where Does This Door Go, and is all the better for it.

Previous work with the legendary Daryl Hall has obviously rubbed off on Hawthorne, the opening Back Seat Lover a throwback to the early-'80s blue-eyed pop-soul sound Hall & Oates made their own, the 'undercover lover' themes staying true to the era. Continually mixing it up, Allie Jones employs a heavy reggae skank while The Only One vibes over a hard East Coast hip hop beat that screams DJ Premier, yet is more likely the work of sometime-collaborator Jake One. Co-opting more of his beloved hip hop, Crime is a cool-out summertime party/BBQ anthem with the help of the always-welcome Kendrick Lamar while the awesomely funky Her Favourite Song benefits from the hand of Pharrell and some vintage A Tribe Called Quest drums. Expediting Hawthorne's rise from the underground, Pharrell puts his fingerprints all over several tracks including the irresistible Reach Out Richard and ridiculously poppy funk fun of The Stars Are Ours, quite possibly a knock-on from his Despicable Me 2 sessions. Closing the set with rare restraint, All Better comes off like McCartney meets REO Speedwagon.

While sticking to his common theme of women and their various states of confidence, innocence, brokenness and conceitedness Mayer has added a huge amount of variation to his delivery, resulting in his finest album to date