Sleep Through the Static (Jack Johnson)

Jack Johnson's first three albums will forever be shuffled on the playlists of backpackers making their way through Europe. His combination of laid-back rhythms with semi-inspirational lyrics has served as the perfect soundtrack for the just-out-of-high-school-and-trying-to-find-themselves set. He sang about surfing and banana pancakes, and staring up at the stars solved even his biggest problems. On Sleep Through the Static, however, Johnson's naïve positivity is replaced with world-weariness and war fatigue.

The album opens with "All At Once," where Johnson dejectedly sings about not being able to escape the world, and finishes with the thought, "sometimes it feels like a heart is no place to be singin' from at all." This is not the same Jack Johnson that once wrote an entire album for the Curious George movie.

Some of the song titles suggest reprieve, like "Angel" and "Hope," but even then it's not all sunny. The former begins as a mindless love song, before we realize Johnson is singing to a girl who appears to have no time for him. The latter, it turns out, isn't about hope at all, but warning someone that they "better hope they’re not alone."

Even though Static is pretty dour lyrically, most of it is disguised with the same old up-tempo, "Aw, shucks" delivery that colored Johnson's previous albums. Fans of his likely won't be disappointed, but they might get a little depressed.

—Nathan Atnikov

One of our favorite local artists. Look for him on YouTube.Com