We might as well admit it: we at KCRW are straight-up Mayer Hawthorne groupies! The guy could release an album of solo tuba jams, and it'd still probably rocket to the top of our charts. Thankfully our loyalty has never been tested that far (yet!), as he has mainly stuck with a sexy soul vibe on his records, which is undeniably a strength of his. However, he is also a man of diverse interests, as his new collaboration, Jaded Incorporated, demonstrates, and given the results, we're happy to go along for the ride.
Jaded Incorporated features Kendall Tucker, aka 14KT, a friend and collaborator of Mayer's since his days growing up in Michigan. Together they channel 80s-era electro-pop (with a touch of Detroit-style techno) on their full-length debut, The Big Knock. Songs like "Coconut Sofa" gurgle along like a lost Ultravox or Naked Eyes tune discovered and reinterpreted by Jermaine Jackson. It's weirdly disorientating and comfortably familiar at the same time. Once again we get a dose of the multi-faceted, ever-talented Mayer Hawthorne and his equally talented friends, keeping the KCRW love-fest alive and well for the foreseeable future!
-Eric J. Lawrence
Track List:
1. Black Future
2. Monster
3. Come Down
4. Sincerely Nestor
5. Coconut Sofa
6. Cubicle
7. Half Moon Bar OK
8. Quantum Entanglement
9. Sincerely Nemis
10. Faded Photograph
11. People Change
12. The Big Knock
Photo by Jeremy Deputat, courtesy of the artist