In recent days, John Mayer has been teasing his new album Sob Rock, which he officially announced earlier this week. So far, all the promotional imagery has had a decidedly throwback look, and it turns out that’s reflective of the music it was made to represent. Today, Mayer has shared a new single called “Last Train Home,” and it indeed has a retro sound.
Mayer has adopted older aesthetics for his music before, and this time, he seems to be going full ’80s. The new song isn’t synth-driven, but definitely synth-supported. Take the bongos into account and it’s easy to draw similarities between “Last Train Home” and Toto’s beloved hit “Africa.”
One thing “Africa” doesn’t have that Mayer’s latest does, though, is some backing vocals from Maren Morris. This isn’t the first link-up between Mayer and Morris in recent months: Back in March, Mayer supported Morris on guitar for her Grammys performance of “The Bones.”
So far, “Last Train Home” is the only song confirmed to appear on Sob Rock. Mayer has yet to share a tracklist for the album, so it’s currently unknown if his recent non-album singles — “New Light,” “I Guess I Just Feel Like,” and “Carry Me Away” — will be included on the release.
Watch the “Last Train Home” video above.
Sob Rock is out 7/16 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.
