The teenyboppers will compare Jonathan Rice, with his soft and raspy voice, to John Mayer, while the cognoscenti will find his folksy acoustic style reminiscent of Nick Drake. But Rice owes much of his initial success to his ability to appeal to both teenyboppers and music buffs alike, albeit on different levels. He has received praise from such divergent publications as "Venue Magazine" and "Elle Girl" - the latter rating him the "hottest bachelor of the month" on two separate occasions.
The 21-year-old singer-songwriter, from Washington, DC by way of Scotland, has been playing music professionally for only a few years now, but has already toured with such well-known artists as Dido and Maroon 5. Even if you're not familiar with the name, chances are you've heard his music, which has been featured on television shows including "Six Feet Under," "One Tree Hill," and "The O.C."
Rice displays all the potential to achieve musical stardom, but until this point had been lacking one critical component: an album. He released his EP in May of 2004 but continually pushed back the release date of his first full-length album to work out some of the kinks. With the long-awaited release of "Trouble is Real" on April 26, Rice is finally in the position to make a big splash in the musical world.
Rice recorded the album on the Warner Brothers label with the help of band members from Rilo Kiley and The Faint, as well as singer-songwriter Amy Correia. It is difficult to characterize the album, for it does not fit into any particular genre. The tracks range from catchy pop tunes ("Kiss Me Goodbye") to subdued folk ballads ("Break So Easy") to edgy rock songs ("Salvation Day.") The album is a tad schizoid, but somehow it works. The surprising unity of the album is due in large part to producer Mike Mogis, who seamlessly ties the diverse tracks together.
The album opens with an eerily beautiful string intro that one might expect to hear on Radiohead's "Kid A," but fades into "Mid November," a sweet love song more like something that might be featured on a WB drama - oh wait, it has been.
While the album does have its fair share of these types of songs, it is deeper than the average pop album and reflects Rice's talent as a songwriter. The lyrics are clever and often of a poetic or political nature. The song "Put Me In Your Holy War" offers a satirical attack on the current presidential administration (Rice - not Condoleeza - is not the biggest fan of Mr. Bush) in the form of a garbled Southern folk song.
The starlets of the album are "City on Fire" and "Salvation Day," which is ironic, because these two songs couldn't be more different. "City on Fire" is a dark, haunting piece that truly exposes Rice's vocal talent as he sings over soft acoustic and ambient sounds. "Salvation Day," on the other hand, is an up-tempo rock song that starts off like "Complete Control" by the Clash and gets the adrenaline pumping.
The most disappointing song on the album is the one that has received the most commercial success, "So Sweet." All of you "O.C." fanatics might remember this song from the episode set in Las Vegas. The song is clearly a concession to the industry executives desiring a more marketable sound to resonate with the public. With its contrived "la la las" and insipid lyrics, it has all the makings of a commercial hit but comes at the expense of an otherwise solid album.
Rice has made a name for himself as something more than a television musician with this album. Until he develops his own unique sound, however, he will invariably be defined in terms of other artists. "Trouble is Real" could mark the beginning of a fruitful music career for Rice, but he must realize his own musical niche before being ready for stardom.
