John Mayer doesn’t want to rush his next album. And really, why should he? After two decades of twisting pop, blues, and folk into chart-topping, Grammy-winning records, Mayer seems more focused on truth than trends. "I’m letting the songs come to me, not chasing them," he told a crowd in Amsterdam earlier this year. “I think I’m halfway there.”
Now, as he balances a stripped-back European solo tour and sporadic songwriting sessions in L.A. and Montana, Mayer is quietly sculpting what insiders say could be his most vulnerable record since Continuum. The album — currently untitled, and still without an official release date — is expected to arrive sometime in late 2025 or early 2026, according to sources close to the project.
“It’s not a sequel. It’s a reset.”
Following the lush soft-rock nostalgia of 2021’s Sob Rock, fans might expect another neon-soaked trip into Mayer’s retro obsessions. But this time, he's turning inward. Several unreleased songs debuted on tour — including the raw, finger-picked “Drifting” and the haunting ballad “Why Anyone Has to Go” — point to a more stripped-down, emotionally exposed sound.
“There’s no character this time,” says a friend who’s heard early demos. “No irony. It’s just John.”
That shift might be partly due to Mayer’s new approach to releasing music. After his departure from Columbia Records, Mayer is now working independently, giving him full control over his creative process — and timeline. “There’s no label calendar,” he joked in a livestream. “Just me, my guitar, and whether the song’s ready.”
A Living Room, Not an Arena
Don’t expect big features, either. In a recent New York Times piece, Mayer said he’s “done chasing pop moments,” and prefers the idea of the album feeling “like a conversation in someone’s living room.” He’s reportedly working with long time collaborators including producer Steve Jordan and bassist Pino Palladino — keeping the vibe intimate and live.
There’s also a chance this album reintroduces the world to Mayer’s acoustic storytelling roots — a space he hasn’t fully explored since 2009’s Battle Studies. “He’s writing the kind of songs that feel like they could’ve been on Room for Squares — but with 20 years of wear and wisdom on them,” one industry source tells Rolling Stone.
What’s Next?
While there’s no firm date on the calendar, Mayer has hinted a lead single could arrive before the end of 2025. And with vinyl production timelines now stretching months, a full album release might not land until early 2026 — though fans remain hopeful for a surprise drop.
In the meantime, Mayer seems content to let the music unfold organically. As he told one fan backstage in Berlin: “The songs will come out when they’re ready. I think people are ready to feel something real again — I know I am.”