How Do You Do (Mayer Hawthorne album)

How Do You Do is the second studio album by American singer Mayer Hawthorne. It was released on October 11, 2011, by Universal Republic Records. The limited edition box set of the album gave Hawthorne his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package in 2014.

How Do You Do
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 11, 2011 (2011-10-11)
Studio
  • The Barbershop (Detroit and Los Angeles)
  • Dean Street (London)
Genre
Length38:29
LabelUniversal Republic
ProducerMayer Hawthorne
Mayer Hawthorne chronology
A Strange Arrangement
(2009)
How Do You Do
(2011)
Where Does This Door Go
(2013)
Singles from How Do You Do
  1. "A Long Time"
    Released: May 23, 2011
  2. "The Walk"
    Released: August 29, 2011

Promotion

The album's lead single, "A Long Time", was released on May 23, 2011,[1] its music video was released on September 5, 2011.[2] The album's second single, "The Walk", was released on August 29, 2011,[3] its music video was released on October 5, 2011,[4] the song peaked at number 32 on the US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.7/10[6]
Metacritic78/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Consequence of SoundC–[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[10]
HipHopDX4.0/5[11]
Los Angeles Times[12]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)A–[13]
PopMatters8/10[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
Slant Magazine[16]
Spin8/10[17]

How Do You Do was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 78, based on 19 reviews.[7] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.7 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[6]

AllMusic editor David Jeffries commented that Hawthorne's songwriting ability compliments his "adherence to an aesthetic" and "love of nostalgic soul", and stated, "that the man sounds more natural and loose than on his debut might be this album's greatest asset, making the vulgar drops and other nods to the present feel less mannered than before."[8] Barry Walters of Spin called Hawthorne a "credible crooner" and commented that "his increasingly confident cries and grooves and songwriting aplomb are undeniably pro."[17] Colin McGuire of PopMatters dubbed it "Hawthorne's masterpiece to date" and stated, "What makes How Do You Do so much better than the singer's debut [...] is his foray into up-tempo groove-happy soul music."[14] Los Angeles Times writer August Brown complimented its "fantastic pillow talk" and wrote that the album "splits the difference between the well-ironed soul revivalism of Adele and R. Kelly's baroquely dirty mind." Brown added that Hawthorne "comes into his own as a vocal powerhouse" and commended the production as "refined and dynamic in a way that's wholly missing from pop radio."[12]

However, Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe found Hawthorne's singing "technically poor" and marred by a "shaky sense of pitch". Keefe noted its musicianship as "simply flawless in recreating a '70s-era R&B groove" and stated, "Hawthorne just doesn't have the vocal chops to pull off an otherwise solid album."[16] Rolling Stone writer Chuck Eddy found "Hawthorne's oldschool pop-R&B homages [...] so meticulous that it's tempting to overrate his pipes", and concluded, "Don't expect emotion for the ages, and you'll have fun with this."[15] In his consumer guide, critic Robert Christgau indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction". He called the album a "civically revivalist Motown / Ford homage" and stated, "What we're hearing here is the Temptations turning into the Delfonics—the way his midrange gives up the verse and his falsetto takes the chorus is as nice as his boyish sexism."[13]

Awards

Awards for How Do You Do
Year Ceremony Category Result
2014 Grammy Awards Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package Nominated[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mayer Hawthorne (Andrew Cohen) except as noted.

How Do You Do track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Get to Know You" 4:40
2."A Long Time" 3:41
3."Can't Stop" (featuring Snoop Dogg)3:57
4."Dreaming" 3:40
5."The Walk" 3:38
6."Finally Falling" 3:20
7."Hooked" 2:32
8."Stick Around" 2:57
9."The News" 1:37
10."You Called Me" 2:32
11."You're Not Ready" 3:01
12."No Strings"3:48
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Henny & Gingerale"4:14
Notes
  • "A Long Time" features additional vocals by Noelle Scaggs
  • "The Walk" features additional vocals by JimiJames
  • "You Called Me" features additional vocals by JimiJames

Personnel

Credits for How Do You Do adapted from AllMusic.[19]

Musicians

Production

  • Cedric Bihr – photography
  • Henry DeMaio – photography
  • Tom Elmhirst – mixing
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering
  • Mayer Hawthorne – art direction, engineer, mixing, musician, producer, vocals
  • Jeff Lank – text
  • Chris Piascik – lettering
  • Kevin Scanlon – photography
  • Jason Schweitzer – mixing
  • Robert Winter – photography

Charts

References

  1. "A Long Time – Single by Mayer Hawthorne". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  2. "Mayer Hawthorne – A Long Time". YouTube. September 5, 2011. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  3. Eddie "Stats" (August 29, 2011). "Audio: Mayer Hawthorne "The Walk"". Okayplayer. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  4. "Mayer Hawthorne – The Walk". YouTube. October 5, 2011. Archived from the original on September 6, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  5. "Mayer Hawthorne Chart History: Hot Rock & Alternative Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  6. "How Do You Do by Mayer Hawthorne reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  7. "How Do You Do by Mayer Hawthorne Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 17, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  8. Jeffries, David. "How Do You Do – Mayer Hawthorne". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 15, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  9. Madden, Michael (October 18, 2011). "Album Review: Mayer Hawthorne – How Do You Do". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  10. Wood, Mikael (October 7, 2011). "Albums: Oct, 14, 2011". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  11. Gomez-Lacayo, Jada (October 19, 2011). "Mayer Hawthorne – How Do You Do". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  12. Brown, August (October 11, 2011). "Album review: Mayer Hawthorne's 'How Do You Do'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  13. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Mayer Hawthorne". MSN Music. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  14. McGuire, Colin (October 16, 2011). "Mayer Hawthorne: How Do You Do". PopMatters. Archived from the original on November 19, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  15. Eddy, Chuck (October 25, 2011). "How Do You Do". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  16. Keefe, Jonathan (October 10, 2011). "Review: Mayer Hawthorne, How Do You Do". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  17. Walters, Barry (October 11, 2011). "Mayer Hawthorne, 'How Do You Do' (Universal Republic)". Spin. Archived from the original on November 7, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  18. "Grammys 2014: The complete list of nominees and winners". Los Angeles Times. January 26, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  19. "How Do You Do – Mayer Hawthorne | Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 21, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Mayer Hawthorne – How Do You Do" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  21. "Charts.nz – Mayer Hawthorne – How Do You Do". Hung Medien.
  22. "Mayer Hawthorne Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  23. "Mayer Hawthorne Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
  24. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
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