New Way to Be Human

by

Switchfoot

Edit

Who is the best-known alternative Christian band? Good question, I'd probably say DC Talk or Jars of Clay. Who is the best Christian band? Even better question, and I would have to vote for Switchfoot.

Switchfoot's first CD, "The Legend of Chin," is hard to beat. Surprisingly deep lyrics and a very mature sound made it an impressive debut. Their sophomore effort, "New Way to Be Human," definitely kept up the momentum.

Holding on to some of the style that made their first album great, Switchfoot adds a good deal of variety with this new album, showing that they can still write the solemn tear-jerkers like "Don't Be There" (from the first CD), with songs like "Let That Be Enough." They also show how they can still jam with tunes like "Company Car" and "Something More (Augustine's Confession)."

Bottom line - this is an awesome CD. Anyone should enjoy this music, not just Christian alternative fans.

I'd heard of the band way back with their debut LEGEND OF CHIN but I'd kind of forgotten about them until "Meant to Live" exploded at alternative radio. At that point, I decided I would revisit their older stuff and see if I was missing out. At this point, the band lineup was a trio consisting of lead singer/guitarist Jonathan Foreman, drummer Chad Butler and Jon's brother Tim on bass and backing vocals. Jerome Fontamillas (Keys & Guitar) and Drew Shirley (Guitar) weren't yet part of the lineup.

To be honest, I can only hear glimmers of the wonder that THE BEAUTIFUL LETDOWN is here. Many of the songs are tuneful but tend to drift into the background. Only on a handful of occasions (all of them rockers) do they really grab my attention. It wasn't until LETDOWN that the band started to write ballads that could move me.

HIGHLIGHTS:

"New Way to Be Human" practically skips out of speakers on a whistling keyboard riff. Foreman takes aim at a disillusioned generation ("And where is our inspiration?/When all of the heroes are gone/Hey, kids, could WE be the ones?") noting true transformation will only come when we look outside ourselves ("The God of redemption could break our routine...") "Company Car" blasts empty materialism as the song's protagonist gives up wider hopes for "that which is attainable" finally realizing he's lost his moorings entirely ("I've become one with the ones that I never believed in".) "Something More (Augustine's Confession)" renders a first person look at St. Augustine's Confession in contemporary language. ("At 31, his whole world is a question mark/All this time he's never been awake before...in a quiet desperation of the emptiness he said/'There's gotta be something more/than what I'm living for/I'm crying out to You'")

LOWS:

"Only Hope", "I Turn Everything Over" and "Under the Floor" are all fairly non-descript filler.

BOTTOM LINE:

Ignore those saying this one's the band's best. They would go on to do MUCH better art than this one. If you're already a big Switchfoot fan you may like this but it's not one you can't do without. Hear it first and download the best bits off ITunes.