While John Mayer has commented that Battle Studies is a move in a new musical direction from his previous albums, you can rest assured his song writing is as genuinely heart-warming as ever. The overwhelming theme of the album is relationships (surprise!!), but John has always had a way of making even the miserable ones sound positive. What I mean by that is, when he croons a line like ‘I’m just scared you’ll forget about me’, you’ll more than likely find a knowing grin on your face rather than a tear rolling down your cheek. Despite the similarities to his older work, John Mayer has definitely grown musically. You can notice this growth on a few of the tracks; ‘Crossroads’ (a Robert Johnson cover) features his own multi-tracked vocals throughout, ‘All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye’ includes some fantastic harmonies, and you could swear ‘Assassin’ is not even a John Mayer track until his voice appears. But get behind the new effects on the majority of songs and you still have the same goofy, heartfelt lyrics we have come to love, the types of tracks you can’t listen to without a smile on your face, and what more could you really ask for?  - Shep