Welcome to the blissful world of Jack Johnson. Everyone is happy, everything is romantic and above all, the atmosphere is completely and unapologetically laid back -- or so one might think after listening to In Between Dreams, the latest release from this Hawaiian surfer-cum-folky singer-songwriter.
His third release in just over three years (Brushfire Fairytales was released in early 2002 and On and On in May of 2003), In Between Dreams is the most upbeat of Johnson's albums. That's not saying much, however, since Johnson is one of the mellowest musicians with a record contract, likely owing to his Hawaiian upbringing.
Mentioning this mellowness doesn't imply that Jack Johnson is a bad musician or that Dreams is a bad album. Far from it, actually. Johnson fills a unique and well-needed niche in today's music scene in that he is the opposite of angst. Even when he's singing about terminally ill infants, train wrecks or frustrations with interpersonal relationships, Johnson remains calm, relatively carefree and ultimately, optimistic. This is what I like about him, and this album.
Sure, because of its mellow tone, I wouldn't bring Dreams to aerobics class. For that same reason, however, it is the perfect background music for reading, cleaning, picnicking on sunny afternoons or spending time with your honey.
What Dreams lacks in emotional intensity, it makes up with comforting guitar, soothing vocals and lyrics that manage to be sweet but not trite. The lyrics on "Better Together," the album's first track, are a good example: "There is no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard/ And no song that I could sing but I can try for your heart."
Well-produced and light, I can listen to the entire album without realizing much time has passed, and when Dreams ends, I replay it indefinitely. Some of the best songs are the comparatively up-beat numbers like "Never Know" and "Breakdown." The album's first single, "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing," also falls into the up-beat category, as does "Banana Pancakes," one of many recent songs about the joys of waking up next to your sweetheart, following in the tradition of Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning" and Marc Broussard's "Saturday." The sweet, short, French spoof, "Belle," is another album highlight, while the decidedly slower "No Other Way" and "Constellations"
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
