I'm completely underwhelmed by this coming week's releases. But a new blog was promised and the album I had hoped to review is currently on lend to someone else.
You know, music fans are fickle. If a singer puts out too many albums that sound similar, we complain about how they only know four chords and we're over them. If they change too much, we immediately whine that we like the old stuff better. We're a tough crowd to please. That probably explains why there are so many one-hit-wonders and so many bands we're all embarrassed to admit ever liking. We all have a shoebox of CDs we only pull out when we're alone. We all lament about certain bands' second albums-They changed so much and it sucked. But there are also plenty of bands that have evolved over time and whom we adore for it. The difference, no doubt, is that the change wasn't made for the sake of making a change but for the fact that life had changed. So, how do you explain a band that hasn't changed at all, then? Is their life not at all different than it was when they recorded last year's album? What about the year before that? Or are they just afraid that changing things up a bit will cause some fans to turn away? I guess what I'm asking is this...
Are you a chicken, Jack Johnson, or is your life really so stagnant that your music couldn't possibly have evolved since your debut album in 2001?
I popped in 'To the Sea' an hour ago and expected something great. Instead I got recycled "Sleep Through the Static." To be fair, I was also entirely disappointed by Tift Merritt's new album, too, so maybe I'm just in a funk. But, it all sounds exactly the same. The only song that even remotely warmed my soul was "The Upsetter." I'm pretty sure that it's only because I like the drums.
Here's my plan: I'm going to post this (for the sake of posting) and then take the album to my car. If my opinion changes, and I hope it does, I'll do a second look blog post in a couple days.
For now: Here's my really simple review...
If you like Jack Johnson and absolutely love everything he's done so far then I have no doubt in my mind that you'll love this album. ...Because it sounds exactly like everything he's ever done.
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