999,987: Mayer Hawthorne — Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'

If it's easy to dismiss this as Motown pastiche, that's only due to the incredible job it does aping the teenage symphonies of the Holland-Dozier-Holland machine. Hawthorne demonstrates total command of the material, with lyrics that ache for a deeper intimacy with the girl who only wants easy lovin' (aww!), and a propulsive back beat that complements the melodic stabs of the horn section. But upon closer inspection it's not so much the cute parlor trick of mere imitation as it is the arrogance of correction: Motown's crime was that it rocked too hard, and Sherrif Hawthorne's mission is to lock it down. While his predecessors often emoted with maximum angst, Hawthorne is content with relatively muted suffering, luxuriating in husky coolness while he sings a bright pop song about heartache. Even the backing vocals are restrained, almost ghostly. It's as if Hawthorne happened upon some old studio outtakes and took an iron to them. And it's that laid-back attitude that lets Hawthorne get away with being lyrically twee, as he sings to the girl about "lipstick on your lips" and self-consciously mispronounces "scared" so he can later rhyme it with "birds"—even his chorus of "yeah yeah yeah yeah"s ooze relaxation.

Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin...