The pop climate has finally caught up with Mayer Hawthorne. Which is to say, it’s finally gone back to his chosen time. When the Michigan singer debuted with A Strange Arrangement in 2009, his throwback sensibilities set him apart in a “honky soul” moment rife with Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, and Jamie Lidell. Two years later, sophomore album (and major-label bow) How Do You Do sharpened his approach and confirmed that if Hawthorne’s sound was old, his confidence was born of the hip-hop era. Hawthorne has just released third album Where Does This Door Go, which features Pharrell and, he told SPIN, is heavily influenced by Steely Dan. It comes at a time when Timberlake, Thicke, and Lidell are still not only active, but thriving, and Hawthorne seized his moment last night on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, performing the smoky, midtempo “Her Favorite Song” (albeit sadly without album collaborator Jessie Ware). A concession to the ’10s: That side-shaved haircut slightly reminiscent of Skrillex, who, let’s not forget, once remixed Hawthorne’s vocals.
Mayer Hawthorne Smoothly Serenades ‘Fallon’ With ‘Her Favorite Song’
