“ALL THE LIGHT ABOVE IT TOO”

Jack Johnson (Brushfire)

Sixteen years after the release of his debut album, and a string of successes that includes three albums topping the Billboard 200 albums chart, success hasn’t changed the way Jack Johnson does things. He emerged in 2001 without fanfare, his management team has always reached out directly to his fans rather than to mainstream media, and his fan base has grown exponentially through the years. Johnson’s newly released studio album finds him as unintrusive as ever.

The songs are almost all opaque and nonconfrontational. Their power is in their subtlety. The artwork is also an important part of the presentation. Anyone who opts to buy the album as music files rather than spending $17.99 for the entire “physical” album will miss much of what Johnson is saying.

The artwork underscores Johnson’s deep connection to the ocean. Reading the lyrics in the beautifully illustrated liner notes booklet ensures that every word is understood. That’s important because Johnson rarely addresses issues directly. Two songs are clearly love songs; another is a gentle requiem for someone he doesn’t mention by name. A song titled “Gather” stands out from all the others with hearty Afro-Caribbean lyrics, Third World flute lines and a much more aggressive vocal delivery.

What he never does is stun anyone — with the music, artwork or liner notes. There are no caustic indictments or strident calls to violent action. There are no explanations. Some people might know that the cover shows plastic items removed from Hawaii beaches, or that Johnson has said in interviews that a couple of songs were inspired by the election of Donald Trump, but none of that is revealed in the liner notes. Johnson lets listeners absorb everything as they wish. The instrumental arrangements deserve careful listening.

Johnson received two Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in 2006 and declined to participate in the Hoku Awards thereafter. Even so, this is the work of a Hawaii-resident artist, and an album that Hawaii can be proud to claim as coming from the islands.

Visit jackjohnsonmusic.com.