It 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 who can surf with either foot forward, nonetheless goes a long way towards imparting some insight into the band's approach to its music. 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-driven sound of the lead-off single "Chem 6A," which has earned significant playtime on San Diego area mainstream radio stations, harks back to the classic riff-heavy '70s rock sound of, say, Led Zeppelin or Bad Company. The sparse instrumentation on "Underwater," on the other hand, is more reminiscent of the reggae-influenced sound of 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 any number of other '80s new wave groups. One would think that such an eclectic mix would keep the album fairly interesting from start to finish, but, oddly enough, the work comes to a near halt near the halfway point. The momentum gained by the non-stop 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." Although both songs boast fairly innovative lyrical structures, they seem overly long and similar sounding especially when placed one after the other on the album. And 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 end up being among the most impressive tracks on the album. This may owe to the fact that the band members, given their college ages, have been most directly influenced by the current resurgence of acoustic-based music of groups like Caedmon's Call and the Dave Matthews Band. Where the group tends to wear its respective musical influences on its shoulders to almost a parodic effect on the harder rocking numbers, they really seem to come into their own with more organic songs like "Don't Be There" and the beautiful, acoustic guitar-driven "Home," whose lyrics take a surprisingly mature look at the relation between life on earth and the longing for heaven. All said and done, the debut album by Switchfoot, despite its short-comings, is still an above-average addition to the ever-growing catalog of modern contemporary Christian rock 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.
3.5 tocks
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 Lighthouse Unsorted 1998Reviewed by Bert Gangl / Mark MarusIt 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…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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