Week of 3.16.15

Album spotlight: Mayer Hawthorne – Tuxedo

For the past few years artists have tried to bring funk back into the mainstream. Some have done it right (Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars with “Uptown Funk” and Daft Punk and Pharrell with “Get Lucky”), some have been sued for plagiarism (Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”) and some can only be looked down on with unrelenting shame and pity like a deranged animal, sucking in its last breathes before extinction (Nickelback’s latest “She Keeps me Up” video).

Tuxedo, the new project from DJ Jake One and Ann Arbor’s own Mayer Hawthorne, brings the funk with a true appreciation of and commitment to the style like no other release has in recent memory.

On “Tuxedo,” Hawthorne ditches the vintage 60’s Motown vibe that he is known for and slides into a set of sexy, 80’s-inspired dance pop. Standout tracks like “Do It”, “Number One” and “So Good” sound like they belong next to “Off the Wall”-era Michael Jackson on a throwback Spotify playlist.

Don’t let the twinkling synthesizers and handclap tracks fool you into thinking that Hawthorne is completely changing up his style. While the sharp-dressed singer may have traded one throwback style for another, his same soulful croon remains.

This is love making music.

Start with: “Do It”, “Get U Home” and “So Good”.

Recommended if you like: Mayer Hawthorne, dancing, “Off the Wall”-era Michael Jackson, hating on Nickelback.

 WXOU’s top ten albums for 3.16.15

1. FATHER JOHN MISTY, I Love You, Honeybear

2. TITLE FIGHT, Hyperview

3. TWERPS, Range Anxiety

4. JOSE GONZALEZ, Vestiges And Claws

5. SLEATER-KINNEY, No Cities To Love

6. CLOAKROOM, Further Out

7. SONNY AND THE SUNSETS, Talent Night At The Ashram

8. JEFF ROSENSTOCK, We Cool?

9. MATTHEW E. WHITE, Fresh Blood

10. TUXEDO, Tuxedo

The WXOU Music Department submits a weekly list of its 30 top albums to the College Music Journal that are currently being played at the station.

Tune into 88.3 FM WXOU Radio to hear these hits all week or visit wxou.org for more.