Quick Review – Jack Johnson

A quick review of Jock Johnson’s newest CD. Released this Tuesday called Sleep Through the Static.


If you’re looking for the feel good, upbeat, ukulele including music we’ve all grown to love, you should probably look somewhere else. While there is no mistaking this for a JJ album, it’s so slow, the album title is painfully appropriate. Some “surfer dude” types might call it very mellow, which it is. But for those of us expecting a possible new single to give us as much joy as Flake, Mud Football, Bubbly Toes, Banana Pancakes or Better Together, we’re going to have to look elsewhere.


Angel is an incredibly sweet song (most probably about his wife) and Monsoon is sort of catchy. But, again, nothing like we’re probably all expecting from his usual sweet riffs and rhythms. Some songs are somewhat sad or even a bit mad. And his political inferences are definitely not what I imagined he’d ever swing to with any of his albums.


Maybe it’s the whole “green” thing, maybe it’s the kids, whatever it is, I give the album an overall “ok.” And really, that’s mostly just because it’s Jack.