If Soma had to be dropped with background music, it would be best written by Jack Johnson.
As soothing as it is addictive, Johnson’s debut album Brushfire Fairytales has elements of philosophic rhymes and chill melodies to please all and retain interest from the first impression. It’s the kind of album that makes a gorgeous day that much more enjoyable, and as the album cover suggests, listening to it while walking through a fierce downpour can actually turn into an enjoyable event too.
From the get go, the Hawaiian native and former professional surfer gracefully throws out lyrics not to impress, but rather to entertain with elements of what he knows best — catching waves, having fun and slowing down to appreciate the simple things that actually make life exciting.
For instance, the title to the first track, “Inaudible Melodies,” was originally the name of a paper the former UC-Santa Barbara film student had to write for a class. Johnson struggled to meet deadline on the paper that contrasted two articles (entitled “Inaudible Melodies”) arguing the relationship between music and film. Let’s just say the paper’s content is moot, because instead of letting the paper frustrate him that night, he wrote a striking song that perfectly captures the feeling of his laid-back disc: “But in the long run we have found/ Silent films are full of sound/ Inaudibly free ? Slow down everyone, you’re moving too fast/ Frames can’t catch you when you’re moving like that,” crones Johnson.
Most noticeable about Johnson’s album is the clear influence Ben Harper instilled during months of touring. It would come as no surprise that the producer of Brushfire Fairytales, JP Plunier, is no stranger to Harper, previously producing all of his albums. Johnson will be the first to admit that he holds great respect for Harper as both a fan and fellow musician. The two artists collaborate on the fifth track “Flake.” With Harper on slide guitar, Johnson’s lyrics accompany smooth steel drums while the two create an upbeat but patient sound that could only be the result of these relaxed talents.
From start to finish, no single song strays away from what Johnson does best. Creating laid-back rhythms and simple messages, every song is sung with great passion. In “Bubbletoes,” Johnson eases into this emotion until it reaches its climax with the powerful message, “If you would only listen/ You might just realize what your missin’/ you’re missin’ me.”
Some of the most captivating and sing-along-friendly lyrics are the impromptu “la da da da duh da duhs” Johnson throws in there just for fun.
Brushfire Fairytales may be too chill to be accepted to bump at a house party. And fortunately for diehard fans, it will never be played out on Z104 either. Throughout the entire disc, Johnson’s calm vocals never raise up or get excited, but often he works himself to the point when one may anticipate him tripping over his own words. Instead, he just calmly rolls out of his rhymes and on to the next wave of music.
