KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: * * *
Jack Johnson's songs are so laid back you have to wonder if in his former job as a professional surfer he surfed lying down.
Ever since he released 2001 debut, Brushfire Fairytales, with ditties like Fortunate Fool and Flake, he's been the king of catchy chilled-out tunes. And on his fourth studio album, Sleep Through the Static - he might be laid back, but certainly not lazy - he delivers a bunch more songs of what you've come to expect.
However, there are subtle differences to his other albums, of which Brushfire Fairytales is still the most memorable.
On Static he uses more electric guitar, not that it makes any great impact and is more of a flippant highlight within songs than anything (although the steely guitar outro of the title track is a standout moment).
If anything the big difference for Johnson is that the mood is darker and more pensive.
The album is dedicated to his cousin Danny Riley who died last year of cancer, but as sometimes happens when you're "saying goodbye to people I love and will miss", as Jack puts it, there's a celebratory and uplifting feeling to the skanking hop of Hope and the tranquil surfer soul of Losing Keys. And Static does have its upbeat moments on songs like Hope, If I Had Eyes (a song on which Riley did some ooh, ooh back-up vocals), and the bluesy swagger of Monsoon.
But let's face it, there's never really been anything that innovative or imaginative about Johnson's songs. They're just songs written and sung by a guy who loves the simple things in life - family, friends, sun and surf.
And besides, judging by these songs and the sentiment on Static he's a bloody nice guy, who makes nice music, and has a very nice lifestyle playing his laid-back guitar tunes around the world. The added bonus of this is he gets to surf in the countries he tours, as he's doing in New Zealand next month.
Static is an album which Johnson's fans will adore - and there are many here, with one of his two winery shows already sold out and Static going straight to No. 1 this week.
Label: Bushfire/Universal
Verdict: Static? What static? Fourth album is more of the same from the king of laid-back
