that hero. nobody wants to be a sidekick.

Switchfoot is: Chad Butler, Tim Foreman, Jon Foreman, and Jerome Fontamillas

Skip to Album: *The Beautiful Letdown *Learning To Breathe *New Way To Be Human *The Legend of Chin

jh: Maybe Switchfoot could be labeled a rock band, but then again...maybe not. Any decent rock band ought to slow down for a track or two per album, but Switchfoot thrives here in-between, at a speed somewhere below insane jamming and above gentle strumming. This, of course, is not to say the band doesn't have some good 'loud' songs, but any band that can play at a toned-down rate and still keep me interested automatically earns my respect. You should listen to Switchfoot -- The Beautiful Letdown if you like modern rock, The Legend of Chin if you're into witty pop/rock, or Learning To Breathe if you like slightly subdued alternative rock. Actually, their new label has picked up the band's first three albums and bundled them into The Early Years, 1997-2000 (just search for 'switchfoot'), a super-cheap set, making it easy and affordable to enjoy all of Switchfoot's work.

Nothing Is Sound has been recorded and, according to switchfoot.com, will be out early this August!

The Beautiful Letdown - © 2003 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
The Beautiful Letdown cover pic

1. Meant To Live
2. This Is Your Life
3. More Than Fine
4. Ammunition
5. Dare You To Move
6. Redemption
7. The Beautiful Letdown
8. Gone
9. On Fire
10. Adding To The Noise
11. Twenty-Four

[ listen/order at amazon.com ] [ listen/order at target.com ]

jh: For The Beautiful Letdown Switchfoot picked up a new member, Jerome Fontamillas, and amped up their sound a bit. A rocking CD with lots of excellent, meaningful tunes to get stuck in your head. This album is masterfully crafted, without a sub-par song to be found, and the more I listen to it the more I like it. Considerably different from their last album, as well as an improvement over it - and boy does that say a lot. There are some hip-hop influences which is usually bad news as far as I'm concerned, but the band blends in multiple influences to make a loveable sound. "Meant To Live" is a super cool jam that combines strong rock with a stronger message..."This Is Your Life" and "The Beautiful Letdown" are softer but equally great songs..."Gone" is so catchy you'll burst...etc. etc. Lots of variety and intelligence - this is one of my favorite CDs. Get a copy, and get it soon!

Learning To Breathe - © 2000 re:think.
Learning to Breathe cover pic

1. I Dare You To Move
2. Learning To Breathe
3. You Already Take Me There
4. Love Is The Movement
5. Poparazzi
6. Innocence Again
7. Playing For Keeps
8. The Loser
9. The Economy Of Mercy
10. Erosion
11. Living Is Simple

[ get the set at target.com ]

jh: Learning To Breathe is a disc that, as a whole, creeps in at the softer end of what I like listening to. This is definitely alternative rock, but unlike most alternative rock it is only fast & loud in careful portions. Also there is a certain 'pop' sound to it that I would normally hate, except for the songs being so catchy and Switchfoot having the whole thing down to an art. Slightly less sharpened than The Beautiful Letdown in my opinion...then again I might be saying that only because of Learning To Breathe's quieter mood. Plus, the variety between these two discs has me convinced that every music loving person should own both of Switchfoot's most recent releases. This was one of the first CDs to convince me that quiet (and pop, for that matter) is not always bad. Tracks 2, 3, and 9 are super good..."The Loser" will rock your socks off. A collection of well written and performed songs that should appeal to any alternative rock fan with even a hint of a softer side.

New Way To Be Human - © 1999 re:think.
New Way to Be Human cover pic

1. New Way To Be Human
2. Incomplete
3. Sooner Or Later (Soren's Song)
4. Company Car
5. Let That Be Enough
6. Something More (Augustine's Confession)
7. Only Hope
8. Amy's Song
9. I Turn Everything Over
10. Under The Floor

[ get the set at target.com ]

jh: You can tell - having listened to all the band's albums - where this one falls on the timeline; it sounds like a fairly even blend of Legend of Chin and Learning To Breathe. "Company Car" is a good little rock tune, "Something More (Augustine's Confession)," "Amy's Song," and "New Way To Be Human" are solid off-beat Switchfoot alternative songs; "Let That Be Enough" is a beautiful (possibly my favorite) example of their touching 'quiet' work. There seems to be more reflection and seriousness behind New Way To Be Human than behind the band's first release, and you can almost feel the guys becoming more mature musicians. The pace is slower, but no less excellent. Now that Switchfoot's first three albums are available in one bundle for around $15, you absolutely ought to own the whole set.

1. Bomb
2. Chem 6a
3. Underwater
4. Edge of my Seat
5. Home
6. Might Have Ben Hur
7. Concrete Girl
8. Life and Love and Why
9. You
10. Ode to Chin
11. Don't be There

[ get the set at target.com ]

jh: Switchfoot's first studio album seems to me typical of most great bands' first efforts... it's really good but with noticeable differences from their more recent recordings. The Legend of Chin is a younger feeling album (which I might just be saying because I know the songs were written by a younger Jon Foreman, who knows), with excellent rock anthems and slow songs that are nearly as good. Just by reading through the song titles you'll notice more of the lyrics are about girls, which I think might be an even more obvious indicator that this is a barely-in-college Switchfoot CD. This is my favorite Switchfoot disc: I like the best tracks here just a hair more than the best songs from their newer albums -- "Bomb," "Chem 6a," and "Might Have Ben Hur" are smart and mighty catchy. "Edge of My Seat" and "Ode to Chin" are also fun singable tunes, and the rest are those infamous 'slower' songs, varying from good to pretty dang good. The Legend of Chin is certainly worth new Switchfoot fans' money (especially in the fantastically cheap The Early Years bundle), even if it's not the group's most popular or technically advanced CD.