Oh! Gravity.
Here's my review for the current issue of the LETU YellowJacket, to hit CPO's near you* very soon!
* (If you live at LETU.)
"Oh! Gravity." is the sixth LP album from Switchfoot, one of the most successful Christian bands. They are best known for past hits "Meant to Live," "Dare You to Move," and "Stars." Their newest album was released on December 26, 2006.
Switchfoot are a southern California band well known for their clean, radio-friendly rock sound, as well as their love for surfing. Some of Switchfoot's detractors say that their sound is very much like a Christian contemporary praise band.
However, Switchfoot have distanced themselves from the remainder of Christian rock to achieve wide success on secular music charts. "Oh! Gravity." takes them even further from typical Christian rock and into fresh, exciting musical territory.
The album has very cohesive lyrics, dealing primarily with the fleeting nature of wealth and material happiness. The second track "American Dream" says, "Sucess is equated with excess... I want out of this machine, it doesn't feel like freedom, this ain't my american dream."
Even with six albums behind them, Switchfoot are bringing this uncommon and very fresh message to the radio.
Musically, the album has the heavier, ringing guitars of Switchfoot's last album, "Nothing is Sound." Lead singer and songwriter Jon Foreman quite obviously has more fun and freedom with not only his lyrics, but his vocal delivery on this album.
The best new introduction is a surprising and very fitting Rolling Stones influence on a few of their songs, notably "Dirty Second Hands" and "Amateur Lovers." This is demonstrated not only in the guitar playing, but in the use of sitars and Foreman's improvisational, stuttering passages. The effect sounds strange in writing but works great on the album.
First single and title track "Oh! Gravity." features a psychedelic video to match the album's cover art. The song muses about how strange it is that people's lives fall apart in a world governed by laws like gravity. The song has a great sense of movement as the band rips through the track in two and a half minutes.
"Awakening" is a power ballad about rebirth and new life. Previous fans of "Dare You to Move" would especially enjoy this song. The Rhapsody music service features an acoustic version of the song with a very nice harmonica introduction.
"Dirty Second Hands" has a mysterious, meandering verse tune, punctuated with hand claps. The chorus explodes into a very finely produced channel of sound, using several different guitars and a backup choir of Foreman's vocals. The song deals with the passage of time and its effects on our journey through life, illustrated as the hands on a ticking clock.
Some of the album's best lyrics occur in the contemplative "Faust, Midas, and Myself," about a man who dreams that everything he touches turns to gold. Again, Foreman's vocals are spot-on and fit well with a background of strings.
The album's best song is "Amateur Lovers," a Rolling Stones sounding song about how inept people can be at expressing their love for one another. A sitar introduces the song as it settles into a first verse over a solo bass line with tamborines. Foreman hardly sings the chorus but yells it instead, providing not only a memorable moment for the album but a nice contrast with basically all their previous work.
A brief synth strings bridge leads into the ending of the song, where Foreman stutters and whispers the word "professional" while the band builds into a rollicking climax. This is a song that deserves to be seen live.
Switchfoot fans at LeTourneau might have that opportunity soon. The band is currently on tour and will come through Houston, Austin, and Dallas at the end of March 2007. For more information about the band and to see their videos, visit http://www.switchfoot.com/.
* (If you live at LETU.)
"Oh! Gravity." is the sixth LP album from Switchfoot, one of the most successful Christian bands. They are best known for past hits "Meant to Live," "Dare You to Move," and "Stars." Their newest album was released on December 26, 2006.
Switchfoot are a southern California band well known for their clean, radio-friendly rock sound, as well as their love for surfing. Some of Switchfoot's detractors say that their sound is very much like a Christian contemporary praise band.
However, Switchfoot have distanced themselves from the remainder of Christian rock to achieve wide success on secular music charts. "Oh! Gravity." takes them even further from typical Christian rock and into fresh, exciting musical territory.
The album has very cohesive lyrics, dealing primarily with the fleeting nature of wealth and material happiness. The second track "American Dream" says, "Sucess is equated with excess... I want out of this machine, it doesn't feel like freedom, this ain't my american dream."
Even with six albums behind them, Switchfoot are bringing this uncommon and very fresh message to the radio.
Musically, the album has the heavier, ringing guitars of Switchfoot's last album, "Nothing is Sound." Lead singer and songwriter Jon Foreman quite obviously has more fun and freedom with not only his lyrics, but his vocal delivery on this album.
The best new introduction is a surprising and very fitting Rolling Stones influence on a few of their songs, notably "Dirty Second Hands" and "Amateur Lovers." This is demonstrated not only in the guitar playing, but in the use of sitars and Foreman's improvisational, stuttering passages. The effect sounds strange in writing but works great on the album.
First single and title track "Oh! Gravity." features a psychedelic video to match the album's cover art. The song muses about how strange it is that people's lives fall apart in a world governed by laws like gravity. The song has a great sense of movement as the band rips through the track in two and a half minutes.
"Awakening" is a power ballad about rebirth and new life. Previous fans of "Dare You to Move" would especially enjoy this song. The Rhapsody music service features an acoustic version of the song with a very nice harmonica introduction.
"Dirty Second Hands" has a mysterious, meandering verse tune, punctuated with hand claps. The chorus explodes into a very finely produced channel of sound, using several different guitars and a backup choir of Foreman's vocals. The song deals with the passage of time and its effects on our journey through life, illustrated as the hands on a ticking clock.
Some of the album's best lyrics occur in the contemplative "Faust, Midas, and Myself," about a man who dreams that everything he touches turns to gold. Again, Foreman's vocals are spot-on and fit well with a background of strings.
The album's best song is "Amateur Lovers," a Rolling Stones sounding song about how inept people can be at expressing their love for one another. A sitar introduces the song as it settles into a first verse over a solo bass line with tamborines. Foreman hardly sings the chorus but yells it instead, providing not only a memorable moment for the album but a nice contrast with basically all their previous work.
A brief synth strings bridge leads into the ending of the song, where Foreman stutters and whispers the word "professional" while the band builds into a rollicking climax. This is a song that deserves to be seen live.
Switchfoot fans at LeTourneau might have that opportunity soon. The band is currently on tour and will come through Houston, Austin, and Dallas at the end of March 2007. For more information about the band and to see their videos, visit http://www.switchfoot.com/.
