The press surrounding the release of
Sleep Through the Static recounted
Jack Johnson's claim that personal losses led the surfing singer/songwriter into darker territory for his fifth album. To a certain extent, that's true, as the album opens with the atypically stark, moody "All at Once" and there are some darker sentiments lurking within these 14 songs, but it takes close listening to find the sorrow flowing through some of the words.
Johnson's sand-brushed, gentle voice lulls and soothes, and the meaning of his music doesn't matter as much as the mellow feeling.
Johnson may use more electric guitars than acoustics on
Sleep Through the Static, but his overall aesthetic has not changed: he's still a laid-back guy singing songs that roll so easy they glide into the background. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine