John Mayer narrowly avoided being a teen pop idol in 2001 by virtue of the fact that he actually wrote and recorded a set of great songs on Room for Squares. He distanced himself even further from the teen fandom cesspool with his sophomore album, Heavier Things, on which he matured beyond his years to deliver a truly great record. His third album, Continuum, falls somewhere between the previous two, finding Mayer's wide-eyed soul and competent lyricism both at odds and in harmony with his nearing age 30.\nFor whatever reason, Mayer decides to get political on the opener "Waiting on the World to Change." It's a mostly apathetic protest song, but he gets a few good digs in at the crossfire media and the Bush administration. It feels more like an intro than a true album opener, and the album truly kicks in with track two, where Mayer wonders whether his current girl loves him or the thought of him. This may sound like simplistic rom-com soundtrack material, but the immaculate production by Mayer and Steve Jordan, along with Mayer's own songwriting chops, make it something more relevant.\n"Belief," a track clearly inspired by his John Mayer Trio pals (drummer Steve Jordan and bassist/journeyman Pino Palladino), coaxes the album into a faster tempo for the
\nfirst and only time, and hints at what Mayer could accomplish if he ever recorded a studio album proper billed as the Trio (even though they all three play on nearly every track here). "Gravity" is a paean to his female fanbase, but damnit if it isn't catchy as hell without being a guilty pleasure. The first half of the album ends with "Vultures," a live Trio staple with an infectious rhythm, falsetto chorus and lyrics finding Mayer questioning the valid
\nity of stardom.\nContinuum rounds out with some of Mayer's best compositions, as well as a couple of his biggest missteps. "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" will have his female fans swooning just as hard as his male fans will wish they'd written it themselves, and "In Repair" turns out to be Mayer's most mature song to date as he reconciles himself with still not being quite "together." He's getting there, though, but he wonders on "Dreaming with a Broken Heart" why finding a girl is so difficult. The answer certainly isn't in covering Jimi Hendrix's "Bold as Love," but he does it anyway. It's a pretty daft move, but at least he's a better singer than Hendrix ever was. Regardless, his guitar skills, while impressive, render a Hendrix cover pointless.\nContinuum should've closed with "In Repair;" instead, we get "I'm Gonna Find Another You," the most naive, negligible cut on the album. It's a return to the Mayer who wrote "My Stupid Mouth," which many of us would've liked to assume had been replaced by the Mayer who wrote "Bigger Than My Body." Luckily, the vast majority of songs on Continuum hint at Mayer approaching 30 gracefully, continuing to pen and produce impeccable pop-rock that refuses to pander to the Total Request Live crowd, even if "Gravity" has the power to get sorority girls' hearts racing.\nSounds like: Mid-period Van Morrison, Nick Drake circa Bryter Layter (minus the moping).
