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Jack Johnson, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow and Vampire Weekend.

the music press

tue 2/5/2008

No static at all. A collage of Jack Johnson, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow and Vampire Weekend.

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Singer-songwriter and surfer Jack Johnson returns with Sleep Through The Static, his fourth proper album. Rolling Stone is pleased that the new sound marks “a tentative step forward for this improbable superstar." The BBC is underwhelmed but convinced that Johnson’s “status as a household name will be undoubtedly reinforced by this well-nigh perfect example of all his best traits.”
After a four-year hiatus, Lenny Kravitz is back with his eighth studio album, It Is Time For A Love Revolution. Kravitz “exhibits a different kind of urgency this time out," observes Billboard.com, "partly fueled by the times and perhaps also motivated by a desire to bounce back from the disappointing sales of 2004's Baptism." England's The Times Online is disappointed that the “king of fast-food rock offers no surprises,” delivering the “usual leaden soul pastiches, laborious power ballads and quixotic attempts to re-create John Lennon's drabbest solo efforts.”
Rocker Sheryl Crow delivers her sixth studio album, Detour. Entertainment Weekly calls the album, featuring songs about breast cancer, the Iraq war and ex-BF Lance Armstrong, a "terrific return to form." The Los Angeles Times is pleased with her pop craft: “Crow's progressive lyrics hit like rubber-band pings fired by some joker in the back row at school.”
New York indie-pop darlings Vampire Weekend drop their eponymous debut. Paste Magazine gives them four-and-a-half stars, describing their sound as "The Strokes with a sense of humor." The music snobs at Pitchforkmedia lavish Vampire Weekend with an "8.8" for creating "one of the most refreshing and replayable indie records in recent years."