Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane

Artist: Switchfoot

Album: Hello Hurricane

Release Date: 11/10/09

Label: Atlantic /Lowercase People

Switchfoot, after about three years of almost no new material, except last year's "This Is Home", have finally returned with Hello Hurricane. Lots of different styles can be found on this album, consisting of anywhere from crunchy rock to soft, mellow ballads. Personally, even with a wide range of songs, they are all great. Unique in their own way. The album starts off with the alternative "Needle and Haystack Life", a great opener that will have you singing along after your first few plays. "Mess Of Me" is their current single. It is a crunchy rock song, and is about basically becoming a slave to ourselves, saying "they lock our souls in cages". A good song, but not the best of the bunch. "Your Love Is A Song" is reminiscent of some of the solo stuff that lead singer Jon Foreman does. My favorite rocker off the album is titled "The Sound (John M. Perkins' Blues)". It is not super high energy but has very catchy guitar. It was also featured in a Verizon commercial that was being played in the World Series this year. "Enough To Let Me Go" is a simple, but effective song about love. It is pretty catchy. "Free" almost continues the theme from "Mess Of Me" saying "Inside this shell there's a prison cell". It may actually be one of Switchfoot's best songs to date. The title track follows and has a message that says that even "hurricanes" can't drown out and silence our love. The following track, their other current single titled "Always". It is a piano driven track that carries the thought that we always belong to God. It is probably my personal favorite off the album and is also a good track for fans of Jon Foreman's more solo stuff. The last rocker, "Bullet Soul", follows and if probably also the craziest of the three, having Jon almost screaming on it. The next three songs, "Yet", "Sing It Out", and "Red Eyes" are still as effective. "Yet" almost sounds similar to Brandon Heath's "Wait and See" saying "You're not finished with me yet". This is probably one of their best albums to date, but not their best ever.

Album Highlights: Always, The Sound, Free, Needle and Haystack Life, and really all are great, unique in their own way.

Rating: 10/10 With '09' coming to an end, this album looks like my album of the year, and probably will be. After all, this is one great effort!