Hump Day Artist of the Week IX

We're one week closer to the ominous Week X in the Hump Day Artist series! My toes are tingling about it as you read this! But, first things first, let's get to week IX.

This week's artist has a brand new album that came out yesterday and I haven't stopped listening to it since I picked it up at lunch yesterday. Jack Johnson is not new to the music industry and his latest album, "Sleep Through the Static" shows it. The album is fresh without sounding gimmicky and has a level of maturity to it that I felt was missing from his previous albums.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love all of his work and his previous albums. I just feel that this album fills in a bit of a gap in between all the others. The title strack, "Sleep Through the Static" is the stand-out song to me so far in the early stages of listening to the album. It's penetratingly casual in its delivery that whispers its message to you where artists like U2 are yelling at you. To me, the whisper is more effective in getting its point across. This is true across the rest of the album that has a bit of a slower feel to it than Jack's previous albums. "Go On" is a beautiful addition to the CD and "If I had Eyes" is just classic Jack Johnson.

If you don't have a chance to pick up a copy of "Sleep Through the Static," and let's be honest, you do have time. But, if you're saying, "Joey, I'm not a huge Jack Johnson fan." Well, then I suggest taking some time to pick up "In Between Dreams" to help get you hooked. I didn't get into him right away, but after four or five listens, I couldn't stop. Then pick up all of his albums, "Brushfire Fairytales" and "On and On" and even his soundtracks for Curious George and Thicker Than Water are more than worthy of a listen.

Jack Johnson proves again this week that he is the man and therefore gets my bid as Hump Day Artist for this week. Next week is week ten! Make sure to stretch your ears out as much as possible to prevent any cramping from all the listening you'll be doing next week!