JoeP wrote:
I saw this at Target, both the vinyl and cd had the sticker.
I can't place the specific album look that he's going for, but it's very 1988.
Yes, many reviews I have seen and Mayer himself has said it is 80's inspired, such as the review below from Variety.
John Mayer’s ‘Sob Rock’: Deconstructing the Album’s ’80s-Inspired VisualsThe artwork and marketing campaign for John Mayer’s new album, “Sob Rock,” features the sort of imagery that pulls you in. That’s because its 1980s-inspired look spurs more questions than answers — is the music retro or just the visuals? Are you meant to laugh or groan? Is the homage related to a specific release from the past?
Mayer hasn’t revealed much about the look of “Sob Rock,” but he has discussed inspiration for the songs. On a Clubhouse talk the eve of the album’s release, he name-checked Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” (1984), Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson’s “Say Say Say” (1983) and Moody Blues’ “Your Wildest Dreams” (1986) as influencing the instrumentation and vocal stylings of such tracks as “Shouldn’t Matter But It Does,” “Why You No Love Me” and “Shot in the Dark.”