Album Review: ‘Hello Hurricane’ by Switchfoot

(Yeah, this is late. My copy got lost in the mail, so I only recently got to listen to this entire album.)

Hello Hurricane is Switchfoot’s latest release, and it does not disappoint for a single moment. The new album contains everything a Switchfoot fan has come to expect from the band: great melodies, driving guitars, and lyrics that make you think while simultaneously rocking out. Personally, I think it’s their best work in many years, and I love that they released it on vinyl.

The music is excellent. Each song strikes me with its clever guitar work as the three guitar players confront the listener with a well written wall of melodies that really speak for themselves. It’s also incredibly well recorded; the guitars have the exciting sound you would expect from a My Morning Jacket album or an old Smashing Pumpkins tune. I don’t know how, but since their sophomore album, New Way to Be Human, Switchfoot has managed to maintain the highest production values in the industry.

Now, I can listen to Switchfoot the same way I listen to Let it Be. Sweet.

Two years ago, I met Jon Foreman (Switchfoot’s frontman) during his solo tour at a conference. His acoustic music (discussed here) tackled deep issues and fit right in with the heavy handed philosophical discussions we had been having all day. This is expected in a Bob Dylan-esque acoustic gig, but Hello Hurricane somehow manages to accomplish the same thing in a driving rock album; rarely can a band accomplish such lyricism without sounding corny.

The music is exciting, the lyrics are thought-provoking, and the production quality is through the roof. I can’t recommend the album highly enough.