Battle Studies

Battle Studies is the fourth studio album by John Mayer. The album sees Mayer return to pop-based arrangements following his 2006 blues-infused effort, Continuum.

Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan, both members of the Mayer-fronted blues group John Mayer Trio, provide instrumental backing for most of the tracks on the album. Also featured is Mayer’s then-girlfriend Taylor Swift, who sings prominent backup vocals on “Half Of My Heart”.

Four singles were taken from the album – “Who Says”, “Heartbreak Warfare”, “Half Of My Heart” and “Perfectly Lonely”. The first two were promotional singles, which preceded the album release.

According to Metacritic, the album scored generally favourable reviews despite achieving a career-low aggregate score. PopMatters viewed the album as “a regression on [Mayer’s] winding, forward-moving path toward artistic maturity”