Hello Hurricane, Switchfoot’s latest album, is my favorite of the Californians’ work since, well, Nothing Is Sound. Having been lulled to sleep by Jon Foreman’s solo work and his collaboration with Nickelcreek’s Sean Watkins in Fiction Family, Hello Hurricane’s fresh blast of rock is a welcome return.
Blasting off with a (dare I say it?) U2-like vibe in “Needle In A Haystack World,” the album finds hope in the one chance we have to live our lives, knowing this isn’t all there is, but imploring listeners to do their best with what they’ve been given. In “Mess Of Me,” Foreman croons, warbles, and screams that he has made a mess of his life, and he “wants to spend the rest of my life alive.” Switchfoot’s rock is solid, but there’s theological import blended here, too: Jesus himself speaks to the fact that some people will exist but not really live, hampered by their insecurities and doubts.
Embracing the beauty of God’s work in creation and their lives, Switchfoot slows down for “Your Love Is A Song” before rising to rip it up again in “This Is The Sound,” a bit of dark, electronica-influenced melody that rises to find Foreman flipping out vocally. It lulls you in and then rises to the point where you’d think his voice is going to rip apart but stays in control, exampling the “sound of desperation” that the band sings about. Still, showing they can vary their vibe more than most, “Enough” and “Free” provide the melodies (and rock) that fans of both Foreman’s individual work and the band’s work can appreciate.
The title track is one of my favorites, challenging the proverbial storm with taunts of being prepared for whatever it throws at the band’s “house,” promising “you can’t silence my love.” While Foreman goes all Bono-like in “Always,” breathing hope into the situation (a birth) and promising everlasting love to his subject (a child?), I’m still left thinking about “Hello Hurricane.” It’s so Switchfoot! It seems to me to be blatantly obvious that the band’s freedom in independently producing and releasing their album has resulted in their own blend of rock and theology being translated here for your listening ears in a completely unadulterated fashion, and it’s excellent.
“Bullet Soul” cranks things up again, and finds the band doing everything well. Still, “Sing It Out,” the longest song on the album, fills the air with a hymn-like quality, stating that the whole world is wrong, and all the band needs is “you.” I’m reminded of “24″ and the way that prayer-like, the song sends off the album and closes out the way the band has presented its faith and music rolled into one.
I couldn’t be more excited to talk about this album with others who hear it. It’s easily in my top five albums of the year, and I hope you’ll give it a spin and come back to comment on it. Switchfoot’s sound is for the community, promoting faith and hope, and most of all, love.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Yeah definitely a lot of influences on this one and some new variations of their sound! U2 is all over the first track and I love the “Kashmir”-esque “Free” also. I keep getting that line stuck in my head “Inside this shell there’s a prison cell.” Great album and what a wake up call after the solo EPs!