It is interesting that the members of the San Diego trio, Switchfoot, in addition to being musicians, have also competed at the national level and earned various product endorsements in the sport of surfing. Even at first listen, it would appear that the group has chosen a name which closely reflects its approach to music.
The term "switchfoot" refers to a person who is able to surf alternately with either the left foot or right foot forward. Indeed, rather than focusing on only one type of music, Switchfoot has chosen to draw alternately from several styles for their debut effort, The Legend Of Chin. The raw guitar licks on the first single, "Chem 6A" (which earned playtime on some mainstream radio stations), hark back to the classic '70s rock sound of bands like Led Zeppelin, while the sparse instrumentation on "Underwater" sounds more reminiscent of late '70s/early '80s-era Police. And "Edge Of My Seat," with its quirky start-stop rhythm, sounds typical of works by Joe Jackson, The Producers, or dozens of other '80s new wave groups.
One would think that such an eclectic mix would keep the album fairly interesting from start to finish. Oddly enough, even with the variety of musical influences on the work, it still bogs down near the halfway point. The momentum gained by the nonstop groove of songs like "Edge Of My Seat" and "Underwater" is lost somewhere in the plodding combination of "Concrete Girl" and "Life And Love And Why." Even though both songs boast fairly innovative lyrical structures, they seem overly long and similar sounding, especially when placed sequentially on the album. The effect is only magnified by filling the remainder of the album with mostly slower acoustic material.
Still, despite their relative positioning, the acoustically-driven songs are the most impressive on the album. This is perhaps owing to the fact that the band members are all still college-age, and have undoubtedly been most heavily influenced by the current resurgence of acoustic music by acts like Caedmon's Call and the Dave Matthews Band. Indeed, whereas on the other songs, the group tends to wear its respective musical influences on its shoulders, it seems to come into its own with the more organic songs like "Don't Be There" and the beautiful, acoustic guitar-driven "Home." The lyrics of this latter song take a surprisingly mature look at the relation between the longing for heaven and living life here on earth in the meantime.
All said and done, the debut album by Switchfoot, despite its shortcomings, is still an above average addition to the ever-growing catalog of modern/alternative contemporary Christian music. And, if their debut release is any indication of talent, then the group should have little problem shaping a unique musical identity with successive efforts.
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Josh SpencerPicked this one up solely for the cool band name and album title which reminded me of those old kung-fu movies. Later, I found out from their review in Surfing Magazine that the guys in the band are surfers from San Diego, which made me want to like them even more (surfing is my passion). Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised but not as impressed as I wanted to be. Throughout the album these guys…The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Bert Gangl / Mark MarusIt is scarcely likely that the fact that the members of the San Diego trio Switchfoot, in addition to being modern rock musicians, have also competed at the national level in surfing and garnered various product endorsements in their sport, is common knowledge. But, while that information seems destined to wind up a trivia question in the year 2010, the band's name, a surfing term for a person…7ball #13Reviewed by Father MoshSwitchfoot, a power pop trio from the San Diego, Calif., area, are well-scrubbed surfer dudes (two college students; one recent high school graduate), who have been as influenced by New Wave artists like The Police and XTC as current modern rock bands like Sugar, Jellyfish and Everclear. I first listened to The Legend of Chin in a small songwriter's studio, with a nervous label exec waiting for…Similar sounding releases
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