According to Wikipedia, Switchfoot lead vocalist Jon Foreman says the following of the band's name: "We all love to surf and have been surfing all our lives so to us, the name made sense. To switch your feet means to take a new stance facing the opposite direction. It's about change and movement, a different way of approaching life and music". THE LEGEND OF CHIN (1997) was their debut studio album. They would go on to success in both the Christian and mainstream markets. Fast forward to 2011 and they put out their eighth studio album, VICE VERSES (lowercase people records/Atlantic). It was produced and mixed by Neal Avron and executive produced by Mike Ellzondo.
'Afterlife' is a rocker about living this life with passion: "Everyday/The world is made/A chance to change/But I feel the same/And I wonder/Why would I wait till I die to come alive?/I'm ready now/I'm not waiting for the afterlife". It was nominated for a Dove for 'Rock/Contemporary Song of the Year'. 'The Original' offers these words of encouragement: "So you say you're just a lost soul/I know you better than that/So you say you're just lost in the wash, oh/I know you better than that/So you say you're just a face in a city race/Wasted and sick of it all/Speak your mind up/Come on, baby free yourself".
'The War Inside' is a rock cut that serves as a rally cry: "Put your hands up, open up wide/Put your hands up, side by side/Age don't matter like/Race don't matter like/Place don't matter like what's inside/Yeah, every thought or deed/Yeah, every tree or seed/The big things come from the little dreams/Every world I made by make believe". Sara Watkins plays violin on 'Restless'. It anticipates heaven: "I can feel you reaching/Pushing through the ceiling/Till the final healing/I'm looking for you/Until the sea of glass we meet/At last completed and complete/Where tide and tear and pain subside/And laughter drinks them dry".
'Blinding Light' is a melodic rock ballad about finding true meaning in life: "I keep looking for the blinding light/I keep looking for the reason why/I keep looking for the sun to shine to take me higher and higher/All my life/I've been living in the darkest night/Still looking for the sun to rise/To take me higher and higher". 'Selling the News' is a funky rock track serving as a commentary on today's news media: "America listens, the story is told/With an eye on the truth as the story unfolds/But the ratings determine if story was sold/We're selling the news/Begging the question, mongering fears/Stroking the eyes and tickling ears/The truth is seldom just as it appears/We're selling the news".
Next up is 'Thrive'. I like these brutally honest lyrics: "I've been awake for an hour or so/Checking for a pulse but I just don't know/Am I a man when I feel like a ghost?/The stranger in the mirror is wearing my clothes/No, I'm not alright/I know that I'm not right/A steering wheel don't mean you can drive/A warm body don't mean I'm alive/I want to thrive, not just survive". The album's first single was 'Dark Horses'. It's an energetic rocker about beating the odds: "We're singing, hey, you can't count us out/We've been running up against the crowd/Yeah, we are the dark horses/We're singing wait, it's not over now/We've been down but we've never been out/Yeah, we are the dark horses".
'Souvenirs' is a pretty ballad that speaks of innocence: "So I close my eyes and go back in time/I can see you smiling, so alive/I close my eyes and go back in time/You were just a child and so was I/We were so young/We had no idea that nothing lasts forever". 'Rise Above It' rocks and is another rally cry: "Hear our voices rise/Hear our battle cry/We've been under the curse/With our arms raised high/Hear us sing tonight/Like the last night on earth/We will rise/Like the tide/Like dead men coming back to life/We are rising, rising".
'Vice Verses' is a quiet tune that asks some great questions: "Where is God in the city life?/Where is God in the city light?/Where is God in the earthquake?/Where is God in the genocide?/Where are You in my broken heart?/Everything seems to fall apart/Everything feels rusted over/Tell me that You're there". Closing things out is the longest song on the album, 'Where I Belong'. It's almost seven minutes long. It anticipates our eternal home: "On the final day I die/I want to hold my head up high/I want to tell you that I tried to live it like a song/And when I reach the other side/I want to look you in the eye/And know that I've arrived in a world where I belong".
VICE VERSES is a great album of rock music comprised of an equal number of fast and slow songs. A main theme is being fully alive on this earth and being all that we were created to be. We should actively aim to discover the purpose for our lives and not just survive. There are also a couple of songs looking forward to heaven and one about how today's news media outlets have distinct spins on them. Jon Foreman's vocals are swell, as is the heavy electric guitar work. I'm rating this album 100%. The Deluxe Edition comes with a second disc. It's a live audio concert performance of Switchfoot's 2009 album HELLO HURRICANE at Center Stage in Atlanta, which collector's will appreciate. For more info visit www.switchfoot.com.