The Seven Albums of Switchfoot (Part 4: Hello Hurricane)

Hello Hurricane

 This seventh and latest studio album was released on November 10, 2009 by lowercase people records and distributed by Atlantic Records.


Said the band's front man, Jon Foreman, "We tracked the whole record completely on our own dime and basically just our own opinions what the record should be."

Personality

This album has a completely different personality from anything else Switchfoot has previously done. "We wanted to start with a clean slate," said Jon Foreman. Relevant Magazine said this was "one of the best albums of Switchfoot's career" and Nigel Britto of the Times of India wrote, "Hello Hurricane presents a renewed optimism and vigour and a lot more musical experimentation."

So, with this album comes a new direction for Switchfoot. After the grit of Nothing is Sound and Oh! Gravity and the seriousness of The Beautiful Letdown comes an album that is not dark or broody or serious but neither is it overtly goofy or quirky. It's a straight up recording, that may be a little self-conscious but doesn't take itself too seriously. The record feels effortless, like an easy overflowing of creativity. And I like that. It's a very mature album.

The tone is more reflective. Even though it's a little heavy, a little rocky, it feels like sitting on a front porch with a pitcher of lemonade on a hot, hot day and just thinking about life.

Lyrics

The themes here, I think, go deeper than anything else Switchfoot has ever done. It shows progression, thematically. It has moved from anguish over the state of the world and victory and loss to a more transcendent place. It says, in essence, 'Yes, there is sorrow in the world, but this is where I've found joy, and this is what I am making of it.' So there is definitely a sense of heaviness about this album but it is definitely the most upbeat album to date.

The album opens with Needle and Haystack Life, presenting a realistic outlook on life but an optimistic perspective: "You breathe it in/the highs and lows/we call it living/in this needle and haystack life/I found miracles there in your eyes/It's no accident we're here tonight/we are once in a lifetime."

From there, perhaps the darkest song on the record comes next, Mess of Me: "I've made a mess of me/I want to get back the rest of me/I've made a mess of me/I want to spend the rest of my life alive."

But then comes the most uplifting track on the album, Your Love is a Song  rejoices in the love of God, "Your love is a symphony/all around me/running through me/oh, your love is a melody/underneath me/running to me/your love is a song ... I've got my eyes wide open/I've been keeping my hopes unbroken/yeah/your love is a symphony ... your love is my remedy."

The next song is The Sound, and it's a little rough and heavy, the tone a little dim, but with irrepressible optimism: "This is the sound/from the discontented mouths/of a haunted nation/we are the voice of breaking/down." The song concludes with, "love is the final fight/oh, oh/let it rise above/there is no song/louder than love ... Let it rise above/up from the ground/can't drown it out."


And this kind of up and down action goes on for the rest of the record. There is darkness and there is light. It works well.

My least favourite song is Hello Hurricane. It feels a little contrived and flat. Also, I was disappointed, when I heard it because, to me, a Hurricane would be a good thing and I was expecting that but in the song, the Hurricane is a bad thing. But that's just me. 4/5.

Sound

This is Switchfoot's most mature sounding album to date. It has a new kind of sound, but it is still uniquely Switchfoot. It's an alternative rock album, it's a little heavy but well balanced. It works. Again, 4/5.

Conclusion

A good record. I like the ups and downs. I like the sound. If there's anything I don't like about this record it's how normal it is. It's an even, balanced album. In a way, I miss the extremism of the earlier albums, and the goofiness, and all the weird quirks. But I think Switchfoot may be past that now. I'm looking forward to Vice Verses. 4.5/5 devastating Hurricanes.