JACK JOHNSON

To the Sea

[Brushfire]

Jack Johnson may still be strumming his guitar lazily in the sand from time to time, but To the Sea suggests that he’s running into the house more often to experiment with his sound. It’s a low-key compromise for the millions who love him for being so easily digestible and those who were losing patience with his mellow, beach bum vibe.

To listeners in the second group, some small changes to the very bankable formula can go a long way. Johnson builds “You and Your Heart” around light, funky rhythms that his audience has heard before. Yet by chugging along on the electric guitar instead of the customary acoustic, the main riff gives the album some muscle right from the start. Johnson takes some chances in his writing, too. The lines to the chorus of  “Pictures of People Taking Pictures” repeat so that they run on top of one another, and the first few phrases in each verse are allowed to soar with the melody.

“My Little Girl” provides the best example of the typical joining hands with the unexpected. You can envision Johnson composing it out in the cool Hawaiian breeze, but unlike nearly everything else in his catalog, it puts him there alone at night rather than in the midday fun of spring break. “This is not the kind of song you can sing along to,” Johnson sings. He’s exactly right—and in this case, it makes all the difference. –David Styburski