Jack Johnson, known for his laid-back music with songs such as “Flake” and “Banana Pancakes” attemptes to change his style with his latest album, Sleep Through the Static, released last month.
Most of his past CDs feature Johnson slowly crooning, with very little change in range or beat, along with an acoustic guitar. As far as talent goes, he has a nice voice, but he has released four albums of almost exactly the same material.
Sleep Through the Static breaks the mold and adds a few new effects (such as an electric guitar and piano) to Johnson’s routine. One of the most interesting songs on the album, is “They Do, They Don’t”, mainly for its edgier beginning and fresh instrumental sounds— although the song is still very easy-going. “Hope” is another song that diverges a little from Johnson’s usual mellow style. The track introduces a piano to Johnson’s sound, adding to the lightness of the song. If Johnson’s usual sound is appealing, look to “Same Girl, What You Thought You Need,” and “Go On.” All of these songs are very chill with lovable, fun lyrics. Other songs, such as “Adrift” and “While We Wait” are a little too slow and melodic — in short, rather boring.
The only released single on the album so far has been “If I Had Eyes.” The song has a light, catchy chorus, but the rest of the song falls short. It is certainly a decent track, but not the best on the album.
With this record, it is necessary to listen to the entire album to get a real feelof how Johnson has grown throughout his career. Songs, such as “Same Girl,” that will never be singles on the radio, would be lost without listening to the whole CD.
In an interview on YouTube promoting Sleep Through the Static, Johnson said, “Almost every album I go into, I’m hoping it feels like a whole unit, and they always have. … Thematically, they jump around a bit. This one, the songs tie together really nice in my mind. It has sort of a nice cinematic ride through the whole thing.”
The album definitely seems to have more depth to it than many of his others, and the mixture of songs in his new style and songs in his old style do fit together really well. Thematically, the music on this album flows better than that of his older albums. But the comparison says little since nothing can really mesh with such lyrics as, “On the feet of a queen of the hearts of the cards and her feet all covered with tar balls and scars,” from “Bubble Toes”. Nevertheless, Johnson does attempt to write about subjects other than girls and love. “Sleep Through the Static” is about war, declaring, “We went beyond where we should have gone.” Another track with a heavier feel is “All At Once,” which warns, “There’s a world we’ve never seen. There’s still hope between the dreams.” His music has grown more political, more meaningful than simply pairing words together to make a song sound pretty.
All in all, even though the album was meant to be new and dynamic for Johnson, the music, albeit very pleasant to listen to, is only a bit heavier than his previous music. Sleep Through the Static is relaxing and easy to listen to when napping or studying. The music is great background music, fun to play on the guitar and easy to chill out to, but nothing especially innovative.