MUSIC REVIEW

Jack Johnson's latest album, "To the Sea," was released at the start of the summer with hopes of being the perfect summer soundtrack. And while the title track and a few others hit the mark of a classic Johnson track, the rest of the album falls short and is ultimately a disappointment to fans.

The 10-track CD is full of Johnson's usual sound, and while normally his soothing voice and guitar melodies are what make him great, the sound has become over-used and does not seem so special anymore.

"You and Your Heart" was a single released early on iTunes with an upbeat tune, leading listeners to believe that the rest of the album would follow suit. However, it does not. The album is repetitive and unexciting, with many of the songs sounding alike.

There was no one track that stuck out as unique or that will be as popular as his past hits. The whole album blends together as one sound, the first song indistinguishable from the next.

Many of Johnson's past songs have been filled with meaningful lyrics, making his them memorable when accompanied with his signature sound. "To the Sea," however, had no standout song lyrics like his past hits, such as "Angel," "Gone" and "Do You Remember?"

The highlights include the title track "To the Sea," a song full of summer images and sounds, and "My Little Girl," a touching song from a father to his daughter. A remake of "Better Together," a duet with Paula Fuga and also one of Johnson's past hits, helped to save the album from complete failure.

Some tracks that miss the mark are "Pictures of People Taking Pictures", which has a very long chorus only repeating the title and "Only the Ocean." Though this track's title sounds like it would fit perfectly with the summer soundtrack, it falls short with a melody that is too slow to capture the upbeat warm weather personality. Other songs that fail to please are "Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology" and "The Upsetter."

As an avid Johnson fan, I was very disappointed with Johnson's latest release, as it was a big letdown after the excited anticipation I held for the album. I was expecting tracks to rival some of my favorites like "Banana Pancakes," "Constellations" and "Breakdown," but nothing was exciting enough to hold my interest and I actually grew quite bored of listening to the album.

I will always love Johnson and consider him one of my favorite singer-songwriters, but I have to say that "To the Sea" does not live up to expectations and I do not recommend buying it in contrast to my high recommendations for his earlier albums "In Between Dreams" and "Sleep Through the Static." These past albums do what his latest release fails to do: create the perfect blend of his unique sound and lyrics that have real messages.