If there's anyone who can successfully bring back '70s funk and R&B music to mainstream audiences with a fresh, contemporary twist, it's Michigan-born, LA-rooted singer/songwriter Mayer Hawthorne. The third attempt from the artist looks to reach new listeners by enlisting current chart dominating producer Pharrell Williams and rising rap artist Kendrick Lamar. Where Does This Door Go differs from its predecessors by focusing heavier attention on combining experimental instrumentals with the omnipresent neo-soul beats and rhythms.

The first single released for the new album, "Her Favorite Song," is a breezy, retro-styled tune accompanied with the vocals of British singer Jessie Ware. The track features distorted guitar strings and an infectious batch of lyricism with sing along choruses of"got to shake it off, shake it, got to shake it off shake it." "Back Seat Lover" makes it clear that the commanding, sultry vocals Hawthorne used to catapult his career are still very much present. It starts the album on a powerful note, which unlike many albums, also carries throughout the rest of the record. "The Stars Are Ours" delivers a mellow vibe with peppy percussion elements and lyrics capturing the "live for today" attitude. Other notable songs "Corsican Rose" and "Wine Glass Woman" showcase Hawthorne's multi-instrumental talents with his dynamic, soul ridden vocals.

The album doesn't stray too far from Hawthorne's original hip-hop roots, most apparent in "Crime." From the get-go, this song was set up for a triumphant tone with a mix of Kendrick Lamar's genre jumping rapping and Hawthorne's soaring falsetto. The slow moving track contains a description of a good time being destroyed by law enforcement, which ultimately ends up bringing the party down to the police department with "300 drunk mother**ckas in a holding cell." "The Only One" is stylized with a classic set of hip-hop beats while also paying a slight tribute to Hawthorne's previous job as a DJ by adding record scratching into the track. Album closer "All Better" is definitely the weakest song on Where Does This Door Go, but the ballad does offer up a creative and often overlooked take on love.

Mayer Hawthorne's previous album, How Do You Do, was by no means a weak collection of songs, but if there's anything to be learned from Where Does This Door Go it's that it is possible for artists to continually expand their musical genre while remaining faithful to their original sound. Hawthorne was able to bring back his neo-soul beats and hip-hop influences in addition to adding star collaborators for a third album that is by far his strongest one yet. 

Grade: B+

A man in black and white Nike high tops sporting a dark dinner jacket over a light patterned shirt stood at the mic.  He was talking about a girl, one he thought he'd be with "forever, forever-ever, forever-ever."  He was talking to the crowd, telling them about a time he was "cruising around in his 62 Lincoln Continental, when an amazing song came on the radio."  Suddenly, the band members in black and white t-shirts erupted into their cover of "Get Out Of My Life, Woman."

Andrew Mayer Cohen, known by his stage name Mayer Hawthorne, put on a surprisingly pleasant show.  After hearing three songs only a couple hours prior to entering Town Ballroom on Sunday July 22, I found myself grooving out the doors post-encore with a grin on my face, lit up by the flashing bulbs of the marquee.

Goofy and endearing, his personality and phenomenal voice inspired mental time travel to American Bandstand when girls were melting in their seats, except clearly after his Outkast reference, with a much more modern swagger.  He held a personable connection with the crowd; at one point he asked them to put away their phones - to actually be at the show rather than watching through the screen of an iPhone.

The night was an array of mellow instrumentals, harmonies, and acapella perfection.  The transition between songs was spot on; in the midst of telling his break-up anecdote he tells the crowd "I look this girl dead in her eyes," and the band swiftly begins their original "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out."

Mayer Hawthorne's performance was a perfect generation bridge.  As he slowed the show down for a dedicated cover of Ol' Blue Eyes, an older couple slow danced while the 20-year-old crowd listened intently.  It was truly beautiful to watch, overcome with the recognition that timelessness does exist. 

Buffalo's solid run of shows continues tonight when Mayer Hawthorne brings his classic neo soul stylings back to WNY for a Sunday night show at the Town Ballroom. I'll admit initially being more than a tad ambivalent about the early word on Hawthorne ("Justin Timberlake thinks he's the bee's knees" or something to that effect is not an endorsement I'm taking to the bank), but shut my mouth, the Ann Arbor native made a splash locally with his sweet 70's soul jams when he opened for Passion Pit at the Rapids/Dome Theater a few years back, and for lovers of classic soul music that's honestly and respectfully made, this headlining show tonight won't disappoint. Doors open at 7 PM, tickets are $20, and tickets are still available.