John Mayer to Release New Album, "Battle Studies"

Beyond the Twitter addiction and making comedic videos, John Mayer is still all about the music. Soon, his fans will have more tunes to be thankful for, as the seven-time Grammy Award winner has announced that his latest album, Battle Studies, will be released on Nov. 17 on Columbia Records.

"I approach music like a director doing a period piece," John says in a statement. "Where Continuum was R&B and Soul, Battle Studies was written with the timelessness of Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young in mind. The melodies and message are concise and from-the-gut with the efficiency of simplicity."

The first single, "Who Says," was released last week. Battle Studies was recorded mostly at John's L.A. home over a period of six months, before finally wrapping at Capitol Studios. The album also features a collaboration with Taylor Swift on "Half of My Heart."

A North American tour is currently in the works, and will follow the release of the album in early 2010. Meanwhile, as OK! reported yesterday,  two performances by John Mayer Trio, raising money for veterans' charities (Military Outreach Ministry and NCIRE - the Veteran's Health Research Institute) have been announced for December: Dec. 29 in San Diego at the Copley Symphony Hall and a New Year's Eve show on Dec. 31 in Las Vegas at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.