 | | |
| | Hello Hurricane | | | Music Artist : | | Switchfoot | | Music Style : | | Christian Alternative | | Record Label : | | Atlantic | | Release Date : | | 2009-11-10 | | Store Price : | | $18.98 | | Artistopia's Price: $11.99 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
|
|
|
|
|
CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. Needle And Haystack Life
2. Mess Of Me
3. Your Love Is A Song
4. The Sound [John M. Perkins' Blues]
5. Enough To Let Me Go
6. Free
7. Hello Hurricane
8. Always
9. Bullet Soul
10. Yet
11. Sing It Out
12. Red Eyes
| |
Other Artist Albums
|
|
|
|
Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
|
 Hello Hurricane.....another step in the evolution of Switchfoot.
Submitted on: 2009-11-20 |
|
I have to preface this review by saying that I'm a HUGE Switchfoot fan, so my opinion may be a bit bias. I've been following them since The Legend of Chin came out back in 1997, and I've seen them in concert 4 times thus far. They are hands down my favorite band.
That being said, this is an absolutely amazing album. I think it can and will be enjoyed by those who are new to Switchfoot music, but I think it's more enjoyable to their loyal followers because you can definitely see their maturation and progression as a band. Switchfoot resists the title of being a Christian rock band. It's not that their ashamed of their faith, quite the contrary. They just don't want their music to be labled as "christian" in efforts not to detract the non-christians who would otherwise enjoy their music. Instead of classifying themselves as a Christian rock band, they would rather be identified as a rock band comprised of Christians.
Hello Hurricane, however, definitively expresses the progression and maturation of their faith. Though the lyrics aren't implicitly gospel-driven (ie no specific mentions of God or Jesus), it's more than clear many of their songs detail personal struggls followed by God's redemption. They manage to rock out hard core and then slow it down with their traditional slow rock ballads.
This is definitely one of those albums you can listen to from start to finish. I've only had it for 2 days and have already listened to it 3 times through. If you're a Switchfoot fan, you won't be disappointed, and if not, this might be a great introduction to what we already know and love. |
|
|
|
Hello Hurricane, I'd Like You To Meet The Sound
Submitted on: 2009-11-19 |
|
I'll admit it. After such a long drought of a solid album (their whole career), and the recent draught of even a decent album (Since 'Beautiful Letdown'), I kind of gave up on Switchfoot. Add to that the fact that this album is three years in the making, and I thought it couldn't possibly be that good. Boy, was I wrong. It's not only the best in Christian rock in quite some time, but 'Hello Hurricane' is a rock-solid rock album.
Highlights Include:
Mess of Me
The Sound
Free
Hello Hurricane
Always
Bullet Soul
At first I was put off by Mess of Me's repeating of the line, "There ain't no drug," but the song grows on you, and it's surprisingly catchy, and it just plain rocks. 'The Sound' has made great prominence as the 'Blackberry Storm 2' commercials, and it certainly works in the stormy atmosphere the ad depicts. It's as much of a storm of anthemic rock as it is a sound. But for me, the highlight is 'Free,' a hook and chord driven piece that builds up to an excellent chorus, and the containment of some great lyrics. Jon Foreman punctuates this song, and the rest of the songs on the album with a more soulful, but ever rock-tinged vocals. 'Bullet Soul' just plain rocks. Note crazy about the lyrics, but make sure to turn it up loud.
Lyrically, while Jon Foreman may say that songs have an underlying political meaning to them, the album's theme is one of redemption, with the subject first acknowledges his trouble (Mess of Me), yearns to be free from his pain (Free), gives his life to God (Always), assures God "You haven't lost me yet"(Yet), then longs for his life to be made into a melody (Sing It Out). Granted, the story seemingly made by the album is incomplete, but the album is about staring into the hurricane of life, then coming out of it by the grace of God. Of course, could be totally wrong in this interpretation. In fact, the only true weak track of the album is 'Red Eyes' simply because nothing works. A big part is the lyrics. What do red eyes have to do with anything the song is talking about? I'm confused...
Overall, a truly solid effort from Switchfoot that adds up to their most quality effort yet. Sure it doesn't have the memorability of 'Beautiful Letdown' yet, but it's a great start, and hopefully in the series of albums the band plans to release in the next several years, they can continue the trend. They've certainly pushed the car into the hurricane, so let's see if they can drop it on some unsuspecting patch of true rock greatness.
Real Score: 4.5/5
Note: On the subject of the album art, while it may not be appropriate for an album with the word 'Hurricane' in its title, it's beautiful nevertheless. |
|
|
|
Hello Hurricane, you can't silence my love!
Submitted on: 2009-11-18 |
|
I have been following Switchfoot since their "indie" days, and it has been a pure joy to hear them grow in their songwriting and production quality over the years. From The Beautiful Letdown to Nothing is Sound, they added another layer to their sound, plus Jon's vocals started to soar like never before. From NIS to Oh! Gravity., they regained some of the "fun" from prior releases and experimented a lot more than ever before. So how would Hello Hurricane further their progress?
In a powerful way! The "rock" songs have more edge to them, and the soft stuff has a lot less on them at times. I have enjoyed every Switchfoot album to date, but never as much as this one - at least not as a whole. I can honestly say that I love EVERY song on this album. A few of them took several listens to get into, though. Example - I thought "Sing It Out" was the weakest song on the album until I had heard it around 8 times... now it's easily one of my favourites!
Musically, Hello Hurricane is beautiful from the opening chord to the final fade. With every listen, I hear something I didn't catch during previous listens. I don't know how they do it, but they're geniuses! Lyrically this one's got everything you have come to expect and enjoy about Switchfoot - mystery, beauty, intelligence, spirituality, and (something perhaps lacking from recent work) hope of salvation.
Not much more to say here - get this album if you haven't already done so! The more you listen to it, the more you'll get out of it! If you want to read descriptions of what went into each song, I recommend checking out jesusfreakhideout's website and click on Song Lyrics and find this album - they've got a few paragraphs of Jon Foreman's comments on each song. Reading those will give you an even deeper love for each song on here.
I downloaded the deluxe version of this album, which included acoustic versions of "Mess of Me" and "Always" as well as a song called "Stitches" from a yet-to-be-released EP (Eastern Hymns for Western Shores) and also a video for "The Sound" - all for an extra $2, I think. Money well spent! |
|
|
|
 One-Hit Wonder Reputation Looks to Remain
Submitted on: 2009-11-18 |
|
| The band has been working hard to shake off its "one-hit wonder" reputation after vanishing into timbuktu with its dearth of songs released thereafter, flunking each time to emulate its biggest hit, "Dare You to Move", some 6 years ago as their later efforts withered without a trace. "Hello Hurricane" is a decent album yet devoid of hits to propel the Switchfoot back into the limelight. While tracks like "Your Love is a Song", "Hello Hurricane" and "Always" are the catchiest, it is seemingly apparent that a return to fame may never materialize. |
|
|
|
 Sonically Solid
Submitted on: 2009-11-18 |
|
| Switchfoot's Hello Hurricane, like most of their albums, takes multiple listens to truly enjoy. Up front, the music sounds good, but once you dive deeper into the lyrics and the melodies you realize how amazing and honest the album actually is. Whether it's edgy and aggressive, or soft and contemplative, all of the songs fit well with each other. There are subtle hints of spirituality in the lyrics, especially on Free and Always. This album offers a message of hope in difficult times. If I had any gripe about this record, it would be ending the album on a somewhat somber tone. Yet and Sing It Out are both beautifully executed ballads, and Red Eyes slightly picks up the tempo to close out the album, but I am ultimately left wanting some more songs with the same aggressiveness as Mess of Me or The Sound. Having wrote 80 songs, and recorded 40 of them, I don't think it would have been too much a problem to pick another rocker to fit in with this album. Either way, this is an overall solid effort from a great band. |
|
|
|
