If you turned on Z104 for as few as ten minutes this past year, the odds are pretty good that you have heard of Switchfoot. After a very successful year, the band released its fifth studio album Nothing Is Sound Sept. 13, and listeners can expect to hear them on the airwaves as often as before. Formed in San Diego by lead singer/guitarist Jonathan Foreman and his brother bassist Tim Foreman, the band's name comes from a term used in surfing. Quite literally, it involves switching your feet, taking a new stance facing the opposite direction. But unlike what their moniker would imply, Switchfoot has not changed whatsoever. Their new album retains the band's trademark sound while continuing to question anything and everything with their introspective lyrics about life and love.
Switchfoot first came onto the scene back in 1997 with their debut record Legend of Chin. The band continued to gain mild popularity in the subsequent years; however, it was their major presence on the "A Walk to Remember" soundtrack in 2002 that gained them widespread recognition. In addition to providing four songs for the film, Foreman collaborated with the movie's star, Mandy Moore, on a cover of the New Radicals' "Someday We'll Know." Moore also performed Switchfoot's song "Only Hope" during a scene in the film. With their newfound popularity, the band put out their first major-label record, The Beautiful Letdown. The album went on to go double platinum and in the process scored the band two Top Five singles: "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move."
Nothing has changed with Nothing Is Sound. Combining infectious hooks with lots of guitar, Switchfoot has, in essence, created "The Beautiful Letdown: Part Deux." The band's current single "Stars" is an upbeat and radio-friendly song that is no doubt destined for mainstream success. Other tracks such as "Lonely Nation," "The Setting Sun" and "Golden" continue the same vibe and are the kind of songs guaranteed to get stuck in your head (but not in that horrible Backstreet Boys way). Nevertheless, these pop-like tracks are not the only thing Switchfoot knows how to do well. Keeping Nothing balanced, the band slows it down at times with songs like "The Blues" and "Daisy," hauntingly mellow ballads for which Foreman's melancholic voice is perfectly suited.
However, just because the album has top 40 written all over it does not mean that Nothing should be disregarded as meaningless pop fluff. Foreman definitely has a talent for adding personal elements to his lyrics. He does so particularly well with "The Shadow Proves the Sunshine," which Foreman was inspired to write after a trip the band took to South Africa at the beginning of this year. They were there with fellow musician Bono's charity organization DATA, which promotes AIDS awareness and debt relief for developing African nations. The song presents an image of conflicting light and dark, much like South Africa itself — a country stricken with disease and poverty, yet a place that still possesses much joy and spirit.
The real guts of the album is "Happy is a Yuppie Word." The song takes its title from something Bob Dylan once said. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1991, Dylan was asked on his fiftieth birthday if he was happy. He responded, "Those are yuppie words, happiness and unhappiness. It's not happiness or unhappiness, its blessed or unblessed." This reflective look at music is what has made Switchfoot successful is their seamless transition from Christian rock to mainstream alternative rock. Along with other bands on the rise like MxPx and Relient K who have also made the switch, their songs promote messages of hope and inspiration without giving a sermon to their listeners. It is refreshing to have bands like Switchfoot on the radio, a place that is quickly becoming a landfill of lyrical crap.
It is never an easy task for an artist to follow up a highly successful album. How much can you stray without losing fans? How much can you stay the same and still be original? Although Switchfoot took the safer path by not changing their formula a great deal, they definitely manage to remain true to themselves. That is because they know what they do best and they do not take themselves too seriously in the process. Mainstream, but far from being trite, Nothing Is Sound is a fitting next step for Switchfoot that will not leave fans disappointed but will probably not garner hoards of new listeners either.
Grade: BC
