Hello Hurricane Rocks and Loves
posted December 15, 2009, 3:05 pm | Log In To Post Comments | 
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Tags: Switchfoot, Hello Hurricane, Alternative/Christian Rock
Hello Hurricane is the seventh album released by alternative rock band, Switchfoot. Switchfoot’s first album The Legend of Chin was released back in 1997. Since then they have been producing their own original alternative rock sound using “grungy guitar riffs and drilling drums,” as their main musical drive (Greer). Switchfoot also has very strong Christian undertones and Hello Hurricane is no exception. With lyrics like “your love is a symphony/all around me/running through me,” (Your Love is a Song) and “Don't let go/Don't give up hope/All is forgiven,” (Needle and Haystack Life) there is no denying the core influence of the band’s music.
Producing Hello Hurricane has been a long journey for Switchfoot. The album’s final playlist of twelve songs was chosen from eighty-plus (Gail) they independently produced it in a studio they built, and they have gathered inspiration from the storms they have face in their own lives (Foreman). Switchfoot’s newest album exceeds past work, yet may not be their best. Overall, they have created an album with a message and it is heard beautifully throughout in a congruent sound of alternative rock.
Producing sound rooted to Switchfoot’s original beginning is great to hear. The album prior to Hello Hurricane was Oh! Gravity (2006). This album had a few amazing singles, for example “Awakening,” although as a whole it was not Switchfoot’s strongest album. Their newest album Hello Hurricane echoes similar sounds and feelings of their earlier work, especially The Beautiful Letdown (2003). The new album picks up from where Letdown left off, and in this sense it feels as Switchfoot is taking a step back, in the right direction. The band has always made creative catchy riffs and beats that capture the listener. Varying from gainy guitars to melodic harmonies, Hello Hurricane rises and falls taking your ears through multiple musical terrains.
The songs all fit beautifully with one another. “Needle and Haystack Life” kicks off the album. It develops an initial feel of sleepiness that may require a second listen to truly capture its depth. However, “Mess of Me” follows up “Needle;” with powerful riffs produced by Tim Foreman on the bass, the album crescendos into life (Foreman). “I wanted to make the album heavier and more aggressive,” says co-producer Elizondo (Wood). With songs like “Mess of Me” and “The Sound” Elizondo got aggression and intensity. “The Sound” rocked enough to get Verizon Wireless’ attention making it the background music for the Blackberry Storm 2 advertisement (Greer).
“The Sound,” the fourth track, carries a specific message lead singer-song writer Jon Foreman found while reading an autobiography of author and Peace Corps Volunteer, John Perkins. Foreman feels that the United States has tried to cover up its history of racism with excuses and time (Foreman). “The Sound” is about a “haunted nation,” that needs to overcome its past wrongs. “Love is the reconciliation. The deliberate act of forgiveness. The deliberate act of moving forward unencumbered by the past.” (Foreman) The message in “The Sound” and the other tracks is that love is louder –the antidote to the storms of life.
The lyrics boldly make references to love and hope, declaring that together we can move forward. The song “Bullet Soul” says it best: “We rise and fall together/Our hearts still beat below/You can't stand by forever/You're a kid with a bullet soul/Are you ready to go?” Foreman’s voice rises to a near scream as he passionately belts out the need to “go.” All their songs reveal the pitfalls of life, but that one must overcome failure and discouragement by pressing forward. Everyone has storms in their lives that must be weathered. The idea of love overcoming the most extreme of adversaries is the theme of Hello Hurricane.
With a message of hope, naturally Switchfoot has taken a step towards stronger Christian lyricism, which was inspired by the mission work they did after Hurricane Katrina (Varga). The band worked in Baton Rouge where they met a woman who had lost everything in the storm (Wood). Foreman writes, “The storms of life might take my house, my loved ones, or even my life, but they cannot silence my love.” Hurricane Katrina inspired the band to face their own storms. The battles raging in their lives are heard in the lyrics.
With stronger Christian rock tones surfacing, it is impressive that Switchfoot has kept that alternative punk rock sound heard in their earlier albums. Years ago band leader, Jon Foreman “rejected the ‘Christian rock’ tag as confining, if not misleading.” (Varga) Although Switchfoot may often be held in view by many as a Christian rock band, the album Hello Hurricane successfully remains free from the “Christian Rock” label. Rather, it is a powerful rocker with raging guitars and stellar drum beats deriving sounds similar to Coldplay, U2, the Killers, and even splashes of Modest Mouse (Greer). With claims such as these, the band has effectively produced an alternative rock album with a sound that can compete. Yet, Switchfoot’s Hello Hurricane keeps its own original sound as, pop-punk guitars blaze while Jon Foreman croons over the microphone.
Critics will agree Switchfoot’s sound is not diminishing, rather intensifying. Varga writes, “The album rocks with a newfound ferocity on songs that at times match the anthem-like qualities of U2 in its prime” (Varga). Songs like, “’Mess of Me’”—a song about fighting one’s inner demons –is a stop-start rocker that kicks off with a serrated guitar scrawl, and “Bullet Soul” is a crescendoing punk rager.” (Wood). Maybe Switchfoot’s lyrics do delve into a spiritual landscape praising love as the means to be victorious in battles. However, in the end, “these songs wrap a faith-based message in a secular package.” (Wood) If you like alternative rock then be sure to pick up Hello Hurricane.
