The Bottom Line: If you like Switchfoot, you should get this album. Just be prepared for some frustration when it comes to playing it on various devices. Maybe you should buy it digitally.
zorrothepiking's Full Review: Nothing Is Sound by Switchfoot
After the highly successful release of The Beautiful Letdown, Switchfoot fans had high expectations for the followup album. I think this album really delivers, and absolutely love it.
THE BACKGROUND -
This is Switchfoot's fifth album, not counting the release of their Early Years collection. Since their first album, this band has been building momentum. The band debuted with Legend of Chin, which was a quirky, dark rock jazz sound that showed real potential but didn't get them as much attention as the Smalltown Poets debut or the Seven Day Jesus debut, all three of which being released in mid 1997. The debut was followed up with New Way to Human, which swung their music into a pop rock sound and was complemented with provoking lyrics. Following that came Learning to Breathe, which returned some of their unique sound and maintained the high standards for lyrics.
By this time, Switchfoot had gained a lot of popularity in the Christian Rock scene, due in a large part to some of their smash hits including Chem 6A from Legend of Chin, Company Car and New Way to be Human from New Way to Human, and Dare You to Move from Learning to Breathe. With The Beautiful Letdown, Switchfoot was launched into the mainstream music world's attention thanks to the explosively popular single Meant to Live. On the heels of that success comes Nothing is Sound, which does not disappoint.
THE SOUND -
Unlike The Beautiful Letdown, which maintained a lot of the raw distorted electric guitar sound that was really introduced in New Way to Human, the sound of this album is a little softer. While Stars, the popular single for this album, keeps this element, most others focus on the keeping a strong bass line and filling in with effects. Although it is really well done, I have to admit that it gives the album a slightly weaker sound overall. It seems that they put more focus into the lyrics this time than into the music itself. It seems to be pretty common that a band will tone back the music if they care about the lyrics or roll back the lyrics if they're trying to focus on the music.
Like I said, Stars was the single that got people excited about this album. It starts out with a powerful electric solo, which Meant to Live showed to be a very effective formula. The energy throughout this entire song is excellent, using that classic alternative rock sound that we knew in their early years. One of only 2 other song with this guitar sound so prevalent is Politicians, which falls later on the album. Politicians is much darker than Stars and more dynamic. The chorus really opens up, and it all comes together really well. Easier than Love is probably the only other song that has some of this electric sound in it, and this comes and goes. The song itself is great, with awesome building for the chorus, but I still miss that electric. We are One Tonight has its own electric sound, but it's unlike what you've heard from this band before. It changes during the song, but it tends to be a little more tinny than what I'm used to. Still, this song is the last rocker on the album, and has all the associated awesomeness.
The album opens with Lonely Nation, which sports a new sound that seems to serve as a sort of template for many of the songs on the album. The bass is strong and the drums are steady, but the only other sounds are the vocals and some effects. I like the way the effects are done. They seem to come from an electronic keyboard, because they add to the overall melody, filling in harmonies and rounding out sounds. Lonely Nation is like most of the opening songs on Switchfoot albums: full of energy, big rock sound, upbeat vocals and music. Happy is a Yuppie Word provides a similar experience. There is some electric guitar, but it plays a very background role. The main instrument during most parts is the bass, which shifts the focus to the vocalist. The Setting Sun is another high energy song without the focus on electric. It has some guitar in there, but it's mostly bass, drums, and effects. This song isn't my favorite. It seems to stretch on and on, lacking the movement we expect from this band. Golden has an upbeat sound, but has an acoustic flavor thanks to an undistorted guitar.
More ballads around found on this album than on the previous ones. The first one we come across is The Shadow Proves the Sunshine. Not particularly slow, it really just simplifies the sound back to basics and rolls back the intensity a bit. This gives it a nice, laid-back feel, but at a cost of some of the intoxicating dynamics we expect from Switchfoot. Still, though, they do try to build some, showing that they have matured even more with this latest production. Blues and The Fatal Wound are both a little slower and darker than other songs. I'm impressed by how much movement they're able to maintain. This is mostly do to some excellent instrumental work and energetic vocals. The album ends with Daisy, which is led by an acoustic guitar. I absolutely LOVE this song. I love listening to it and playing it. It's really smooth, with a great sound that closes out the album quite well.
THE MESSAGE -
Previous albums focused their message on the listener. Whether it was describing a new way to be human or explaining how to achieve that, it kept a very personal feel. This album deviated from that. At the risk of reading too much into it, once could make the argument that after gaining universal appeal, they needed to make their message more universal. Although some songs focus on individuals, the overall focus of the album is society. The opening song, Lonely Nation, introduces this well,
We are the target market
We set the corporate target
We are slaves of what we want
We're just not amused
And we're just used to bad news
We are slaves of what we want
I think this is a really neat shift. I appreciate the focus. We really ought to take time and consider our society. They talk about the good and bad, friendship and politics, and more. Easier to Love kicks off this look at society as a whole. The materialism and corruption of our society is captured with these lines:
Sex is industry,
The CEO of corporate policy
Skin-deep ministry
Suburban youth, hail your so-called liberty
Every advertising antic
Our banner waves with a neon glow
War and love become pedantic
We wage love with a mistletoe
It continues on from there. Politicians is about our society and how we need to be pledging allegiance to a society that is fragmented with hate and despair. It's about committing to community. We are One is about hanging on to that friendship and community even when the "world's turned upside down." It's a great rally song.
Blues and Fatal Wound are songs of desperation. They talk about fighting so hard and still losing. He says "it'll be a day like this one when the world caves in." Happy is a Yuppie Word is about how the singer is coming to terms with all the troubles. He just focuses on the fact that what he puts his faith in is permanent. Similarly, Stars is all about looking forward and knowing that things are going to end up well. Even with the clouds you're experiencing, you can look at the stars. The message is to remember that things will get better, and try to keep everything in perspective. The Setting Sun repeats this sentiment.
Daisy is a very unique song, and I believe it warrants special attention. The singer is asking Daisy to surrender everything for God. I have to include these lyrics. This is a fantastic song, partly because neither the music nor the lyrics leave me wanting more. This is probably my favorite song on the album, even though I tend to prefer their more upbeat music. Anyway, the lyrics,
Daisy, give yourself away
Lookup at the rain
The beautiful display
Of power and surrender
Giving us today
And she gives herself away
Let it go
Daisy, Let it go
Open up your fist
This fallen world
Doesn't hold your interest
It doesn't hold your soul
Daisy, let it go
Pain, give yourself a name
Call yourself contrition
Avarice of blame
Giving isn't easy
Neither is the rain
When she gives herself away
ANOTHER CONSIDERATION -
There is one thing I hate about this album. Sony put their infamous copy protection on the disk. Besides requiring a giant pain to get it to play on your comp (including security-risk issues), there's no direct way to convert it to MP3. I don't listen to music at home usually. I listen to it to and from work and while at work. I don't take my original CDs around, because I've had several destroyed. I burn every CD I own and carry the copies in my car. At work, I download MP3s from my home computer to my work computer so I have my collection with me. To get this CD converted to MP3, we had to play it in a stereo, run a cable to the input on the computer, and record it. This results in noticeable quality loss, and I'm very upset that this is necessary. I understand the attempt to protect copyrighted media, but I think most iPod owners will resent the inability to put their new CD on it. It's ridiculous, and it ought to be illegal to put such severe limits on a CD without advertising what that will actually do to you, especially considering that you can rarely return CDs anymore. -1 star !!!
CONCLUSION -
If it weren't for the copy protection, I'd recommend this album to anyone and everyone. The music and lyrics are fantastic. Unfortunately, you may want to look elsewhere if you want something you can stick in your comp once, rip with Windows Media Player, and put back in its case. I think it's worth it, but it still chafes my id. It needs a big sticker that says "Warning: Media purposely designed to be incompatible with modern devices."
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