And so it is. Another year, another creative effort from Jon Foreman. Seems like just yesterday the band was plugging their greatest hits album and Foreman was promoting his solo disc and his cute little side project with Sean Watkins. But Foreman's main focus is Switchfoot and on the band's new album Hello Hurricane, the ever engaging frontman both disappoints and impresses.
One of the album's finer points is album opener, "Needle and Haystack Life," a U2-like epic with Foreman's vocals rising like a siren, cascading guitarwork and a tidal-wave chorus. The song has limitless radio potential and its atmospheric tone is proof positive that the band hasn't abandoned their bread and butter: straightforward, far-reaching anthems. Lead single "Mess of Me," is a raw and aggressive garage romp that's propulsive, jittery and thunderous. While there's a nice breakdown halfway through and vocal gymnastics from Foreman, the entire exercise is a bit self-indulgent. In the end it comes across as nothing more than a novelty single, but that being said, it's a lot better than most of what passes for radio these days. Piggybacking on "Needle and Haystack Life," is "Your Love is a Song," an earnest and melodic midtempo treat that's unadulterated, rousing and gorgeously sweet. It's nothing too novel, nothing too disappointing, as if to indicate that the band knows how to stay in their comfort zone and not do anything disastrous or offensive.
The album takes its first dip on "Sound (John M. Perkins' Blues)," a kitschy, retro bit of garage-rock wrapped in an envelope of synths and ambient sonic textures. It's more of a vibe song, though its big bursting chorus sounds at times like an aggrandized Communist march. The quintet returns to form on "Enough to Let Go," a jangly and plinky midtempo movement with good structure and solid vocals. Though the refrain of "Do you love me enough to let me go, to let me fall through, to let me fall for you," is a bit tired, its a pleasant autumnal meditation on love, or God, because with Switchfoot, well, you just never know.
The swampy and murky "Free," follows and its most assuredly the album's first disappointment. The song seems to serve as more of an exercise to showcase the band's collective talents, as the rhythm section carries the song forward. But that very problem is why Switchfoot's success is tethered to Foreman's vocal command. He doesn't exactly let the song get away from him, but he doesn't really have a chance to extend himself and when he does, it doesn't exactly work. Even lingering guitarwork and an outro of violins can't do much to save the song.
The spooky and ethereal title track is carried forward by a minute-long instrumental intro and ram-rod drumming from Chad Butler, but as a title track it's a huge disappointment. When Foreman sings of equating his affection to a hurricane, it's a nice attempt at poeticism but its not exactly the stuff of legends. At this point in their career, Switchfoot should be churning out music that cements their place in the annals of rock, not settling for mediocrity, and while sonically "Hello Hurricane," is pleasant, the lyrics are awfully disappointing.
The lilting piano and yearning vocals of "Always," move along like a prayer and make for a stirring meditation on solace and security. This is arguably Switchfoot's greatest strength, as on songs like this Foreman and the band's musical acumen lend themselves well to an arrangement as ornate as this. A slide guitar towards the end cements the song as indelible, and much like "Enough to Let Me Go," its an open-ended valentine to either a lover or God, take your pick.
"Bullet Soul," continues the band's penchant for plinky retro numbers and it comes across as a bit too much thrash and din, and while it would have fit on Oh! Gravity, it seems a bit too muddled, noisy and busy on this one. While the attitude can be appreciated, the execution is a bit suffocating.
Foreman dives back into writing another hymnal on the spacey "Yet," a cornucopia of electro-programming and slowly moving guitars that begins rather lackluster but takes off in the last forty seconds. From start to finish, the song feels more like a Foreman solo effort and comes across a little unfulfilling. That trend is carried forward on penultimate track "Sing it Out," which begins with 100 seconds of acapella before segueing into airy instrumentation, more vocal gymnastics from Foreman and a soaring ascension at the three-minute mark that's chill-inducing. And then rather unsatisfactory the disc rests on "Red Eyes," a banjo-fueled, mid-tempo arrangement with a defined sense of rhythm but an odd choice as a final cut. Why exactly the band didn't choose "Sing it Out," as the finale is anyone's guess.
And so from start to finish, Hello Hurricane ebbs and flows with potential and disappointment, promise and filler, which makes for an entirely frustrating listen. The quintet are incredibly adept musicians and can most certainly write hit records in their sleep. And armed with a good chunk of radio-ready material, Hello Hurricane will certainly sell well. But all that being said, this is not their best effort and the band can certainly do better next time out. Here's hoping.
But seriously, some albums just can't be topped. That's not living in the past. That album, was/is/will forever be phenomenal. Its idiotic to say that just because something is older means it is irrelevant.
But seriously, some albums just can't be topped. That's not living in the past. That album, was/is/will forever be phenomenal. Its idiotic to say that just because something is older means it is irrelevant.
Well I didn't say it was irrelevant, but I like seeing people give new stuff a shot instead of dwelling on the older material. Switchfoot keeps progressing and while The Beautiful Letdown has a special place in my heart, I don't listen to it much anymore and prefer to add to my love of the band with the new material. Just my thoughts.
Oh! Gravity was really good. I wasn't the biggest fan when it first came out, but it has grown on me a lot, especially "Awakening."
People have told me it's quite polarising - some of their best tracks but also some really bizarre tracks that do nothing for them. Anyway, I'll give them a chance with this new record.
The Beautiful Letdown was a life-changer for me, and I enjoyed the majority of Nothing Is Sound, but I didn't really care for Oh! Gravity. Listening to this disc now and while the album opener is fantastic, I really don't like "Mess Of Me."
I was really interested in reading this review, and I found it pretty spot-on. I've always felt like Switchfoot don't really get all the credit they deserve.
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