Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane
Artist:
Title:
Hello Hurricane
Type:
Album
Released:
10 Nov 2009 (US), 03 May 2010 (UK)
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Review
Switchfoot are back with their new album "Hello Hurricane". The long awaited return has been pushed back a few times this year to deal with record label issues, but finally it is here. Switchfoot have been around for years, won many awards and created some of the best known Christian albums, but are also very well respected in the mainstream music world. Sadly there has been a back and forth pull between mainstream and the Christian music world, I'm not going to go into this as this is not the place to discuss it, but I wonder if this album...
Read More Switchfoot are back with their new album "Hello Hurricane". The long awaited return has been pushed back a few times this year to deal with record label issues, but finally it is here. Switchfoot have been around for years, won many awards and created some of the best known Christian albums, but are also very well respected in the mainstream music world. Sadly there has been a back and forth pull between mainstream and the Christian music world, I'm not going to go into this as this is not the place to discuss it, but I wonder if this album will be able to please everyone, let's see.
'Hello Hurricane' kicks into action with "Needle and Haystack Life" which is a rock tune but not in the same vain as "Oh Gravity". The song has a large hint of "Arcade Fire" mixed with a hint of The Killers "Somebody Told Me" and U2's "City of Blinding Lights", I hope that makes some sort of sense. Up next is the first single release from the album, "Mess Of Me", which is more aggressive than "Needle and Haystack Life". I don't think there is much more to say about this track than what has already been said in the LTTM review of the single.
Up next is one of my most listened to songs from the album, "Your Love Is A Song", it's your obvious rock ballad with a powerful chorus but Jon Foreman's voice is being pushed to its limit in this chorus but he pulls it off amazingly. "This is the Sound" is up next with its heavy dark distorted guitar and bass with haunting vocals. If you want to hear a very similar song listen to Stereophonics " Movie Star, this is probably the darkest vibe from Switchfoot that I have ever heard. The album heads to a more acoustic feel in "Enough" which could of easily been on Jon Foreman's acoustic solo seasonal albums. My problem with this song is it just seems to start and finish without doing much. Drum leading "Free" comes next, I feel this could be their next single, a great song with a chorus of "Free, Come Set Me Free, Down on My Knees, I Still believe you could save Me, inside this shell is a prison cell". A fantastic song with interesting lyrics, make your own mind up about when you hear it.
Title Track "Hello Hurricane" is the only track from this album I felt could have fitted on "Oh Gravity". A very safe Switchfoot-style song with a less dark feel than some of the other tracks on this album. "Always" is another atmospheric heart-cry track with haunting slide guitars and even bells, don't worry it's not a Christmas song, with its wonderful chorus of "I am Always, Always Yours" which could be aimed at a loved one or God. "Always" is a wonderful masterpiece of a song.
Up next is "Bullet Soul" which is your 3 minutes of rock and roll, amps to 11 power rock, this is what Switchfoot do best. My only concern about what could have been the best track on the album is how much it sounds like "Vertigo" by U2, the guitar sound and even the way the build up to the chorus is very similar. We then head to the weakest track of the album "Yet" which again has a U2 vibe. It's one of the tracks that you either love or hate, and I'm sure some of you will love it, sadly for me it doesn't hit the spot. "Sing It Out" and "Red Eyes" end the album, two very good songs to end the album and show off the Switchfoot sound at its best.
As my brother in law pointed out, "Hello Hurricane" doesn't have the out and out pop/radio friendly songs that "Oh Gravity" had. And from my review you can see that a lot of obvious influences come out in different tracks. Will this be counted as the best Switchfoot album? No. Is this the most complete album they have made? No. Does this album hit the spot? Maybe.
Review by Jono Davies
LTTM Rating 4 out of 5 Stars
Standout Tracks
Bullet Soul
Your Love Is a Song
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