Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
I am so surprised by this album, I thought about giving more time before I wrote this review of the album. I just can’t sit on this one though.
After hearing “Meant to Live” which is a heavier pop/metal song that I saw on Fuse, with a really great guitar riff, I expected the rest of their album to be like Chevelle, or like Shinedown. I expected them to be a “not-quite-metal” band. Turns out the REALLY aren’t anything like metal.
“Meant to Live” is by far the heaviest song on the entire album. The rest sounds like something that Third Eye Blind, or Matchbox 20 would do. The singer has a very good voice and the ambience created by the band is intricate and different. It’s just so amazing to me because my expectations were so much different based on their first single. “More than Fine” sounds like something from Radiohead’s “The Bends.” “Dare You to Move” and “Redemption” sound like songs that Dave Matthews or John Mayer would sing.
The “expecting something totally different than what you get” phenomenon happens a lot. For example, I remember a few years ago when I was still in high school and Sugar Ray came out with their song “Fly.” I knew a bunch of people who really liked that song, so they bought the CD, “Floored.” Then when they got the CD home, they found that “Fly” was easily the most chill and accessible song on the album, as the rest stuck to the band’s heavier punk roots. For proof of this, check the local bargain bin at the used record store near you. I just looked on Half.com and you can buy a brand new copy, still factory sealed, for $1.99, or a used one for 75 cents.
Back to Switchfoot, if your expectations are right, you might like this album. If you are looking for a decent rock album with poppy songs and reasonable atmospherics on the slower ones, you will enjoy this album. If you expect “Meant to Live” you will be seriously disappointed. My highlights from this album are, “Meant to Live,” “The Beautiful Letdown,” and “On Fire.”
(This article was first posted at RockDummy.com)
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Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
I am so surprised by this album, I thought about giving more time before I wrote this review of the…
…A few years ago when you were in high school?
Ok, so it has been 7 years now since I have been in highschool. I guess that is outside the realm of the definition of the word “few.”