On January 19, 2010, Johnson and his band reported that they had entered the studio to begin work on a new album, and on February 1, the band announced that their currently untitled fifth studio album was slated for a June 1 release, to be followed by a world tour. The album was recorded over three weeks in Johnson's two solar-powered studios, The Mango Tree in Hawaii and the Solar Powered Plastic Plant in Los Angeles. To the Sea was released on Johnson's own label, Brushfire Records, with the first single, "You and Your Heart", already released on radio and iTunes. In the album, Johnson used more instruments than before like electric guitar, organ, Wurlitzer and Mellotron. Johnson said of the album's title "I guess it's a reference to a father leading his son to the sea, with the water representing the subconscious. So it's about trying to go beneath the surface and understand yourself".
Critical reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic rated it four stars and commented: "Call it the signature of a surfer so bleached by the sun that he rushes nothing, but To the Sea substitutes the sunset strum-alongs of his earliest records for a sleek daytime sheen that might glimmer too brightly for hippies but it makes for a better overall pop record." Mikael Wood from Entertainment Weekly gave a B grade and said that: "Here's another set of strummy beachside ballads from the most successful surf bum in history." The Billboard review was positive, saying that: "A natural progression from 2008 release "Sleep Through the Static," the new set features more electric guitars and a brighter, full-band sound while still bringing plenty of singalong acoustic romanticism and breezy melodies." Rolling Stone was favorable, saying: "On To the Sea, the 35-year-old surfer and filmmaker is still staring down adult fears. But this time he has made an existential chill-out record that feels substantial, at times even edgy, without feeling forced." Mike Diver from BBC Music analysed that: "Should he ever stretch himself as a musician the results could be fascinating – think The Beach Boys before Pet Sounds, and what they felt capable of afterwards – but right now he's operating in a comfort zone that should guarantee continued commercial success." Margaret Wappler from the Los Angeles Times said: "It's the most genuine sentiment on a record from a simple but ambitious man whose real-life philanthropic and environmentally sound practices aim to soothe the world, one bro or surfer girl at a time." Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian wrote: "Johnson treads lightly with his sunniness – he just lies in a metaphorical hammock and offers nuggets of wisdom, which sound deceptively meaningful, when illuminated by his pretty guitar work." The BLARE Magazine review was positive, saying: "To the Sea shows his mindset as it's not particularly groundbreaking, but it's enough to make his down-to-earth, flip-flop-loving followers dig it. Upbeat tunes still float nearby while the honest gems that reveal his surfer heart are both depressing and warming enough to cap off that campfire with close friends at the beach."
The album was co-produced by Robert Carranza, Johnson, Podlewski, Gill and Topol, and engineered by Carranza.
Chart positions
The album debuted at number 1 in the United Kingdom and at number 15 in Ireland. It debuted at number eight on the Oricon Albums Chart and moved to number seven next week. In the United States, the album debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 243,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming Johnson's third number 1 on the chart. The album broke an eight-week-long streak of number 1 albums selling less than 200,000 copies. Overall, To the Sea is Johnson's fourth top 10 album on the chart.
