Product Description

Oh! Gravity, the highly anticipated sixth album from the San Diego rock band Switchfoot, contains 12 new tracks written by the band and produced by Tim Palmer (Tin Machine, Pearl Jam, The Cure, Mother Love Bone, U2) and Switchfoot with Grammy-winning executive producer Steve Lillywhite. The new album expands Switchfoot's sonic palette while at the same time dealing with certain social issues. On songs like "Dirty Second Hands," Jon Foreman sings of the dehumanization that comes with technology. Other politically motivated tracks include "Oh! Gravity." the title track's generational appeal for love, peace and understanding, "American Dream," with its biting truth, "Awakening," about trying to recover the innocence of a child in the midst of an ever-harsher reality, the sawing alt-country of "Head Over Heels," the exotic instrumentation and Middle Easternflavor of "Circles," the REM-esque pulse of "4:12," the lush Brit-pop melodies of "Yesterdays," the Echo and the Bunnymen/Smiths influenced "Burn Out Bright" and Motown sound of "Amateur Lovers."

Track Listing

1. Oh! Gravity.
2. American Dream
3. Dirty Second Hands
4. Awakening
5. Circles
6. Amateur Lovers
7. Faust, Midas, And Myself
8. Head Over Heels (In This Life)
9. Yesterdays
10. Burn Out Bright
11. 4:12
12. Let Your Love Be Strong

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5642 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2006-12-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
With Oh! Gravity, the San Diego-based modern rock act delivers their best album in years, one that fully reconciles their (Christian) faith with their (considerable) talent. It's diverse but not overly so, and while the production work of veteran Tim Palmer (U2, Tears for Fears) helps provide a radio-friendly sheen atop everything, it's actually their least compromised/mainstream sounding record since the group left the indie scene. From the chiming, revved-up, anthemic title song, which pairs compressed vocals with distorted guitars, to the moody and mildly schizophrenic single "Dirty Second Hands," this album is loud and dirty, the lyrics are thoughtful and plaintive. Lead singer/songwriter Jon Foreman clearly questions the meaning of the band's success, and the role they play in the scheme of things: "Like a puppet on a monetary string/Maybe we've been caught singing/Red, white, blue, and green/But that ain't my American dream." If only Switchfoot's conscience could be implanted in the bodies of other modern rock acts! The world might not necessarily be a better place, but the radio certainly would be. --Mike McGonigal

Switchfoot Pics

More from Switchfoot

The Beautiful Letdown	Nothing Is Sound	New Way to Be Human
The Legend of Chin	The Early Years: 1997-2000	Switchfoot--Live in San Diego (DVD)

Customer Reviews

The Best Kind of Surprise
I'm an older (almost, gulp, 40) pop, indie, alternative music fan who came across a great pop song on the radio titled "Stars." Bought it on iTunes, enjoyed it. By this band called "Switchfoot."

I recently saw a new album by Switchfoot on Amazon (released on my birthday, Dec. 26th!) and thought, what the heck, let's see if there are any good "Stars"-like songs on it. Digressing, I appreciate solid albums (yeah, 10-12 songs long) that don't force you to skip songs and provide an emotional ride (haven't had many of those since the peak of U2, R.E.M., Coldplay, Radiohead, etc.). To say the new Switchfoot album was a complete surprise is the understatement of the decade. And then I found out they were a "Christian" band (I love labels) and I was like, really? Don't care one way or the other, because this is an awesome rock/pop whatever-you-want-to-label-it album.

Partial credit must go to Steve Lillywhite - he has this knack of getting the most pop (yeah, I like pop songs - sue me) out of rock bands, while keeping the emotional strengths and solid musicianship. Look at Dave Matthews Band - their first three albums (love em or hate em) are incredible pop rock albums with emotion to boot. Nothing they have done since ditching Mr. Lillywhite have been nearly as good. So, even though I have not heard Switchfoot's catalog, I must give credit in part to Mr. Lillywhite for the incredibly pleasant surprise that is "Oh! Gravity."

Enough blathering - every song has something interesting about it, whether it be soaring guitars (the build up to and chorus of "Head Over Heels"), awesome singing (screaming in "Oh! Gravity" and "Awakening"), heartfelt emotion ("Head Over Heels" and "Yesterdays"), kick-a** rhythms (the whole album) and interesting musical touches throughout ("Dirty Second Hands" "Faust" and my favorite, "4:12"). The lyrics and emotion feel honest, not forced, and definitely provide some solid messages for this time (excess - bad, having a heart - good). And while its sounds like a mid-90's song by Gutterball (look it up), "Amatuer Lovers" rocks out and places a giddy smile on my face every time I hear it.

I highly recommend this album - you may not rate every song a five out of five, but you have to appreciate a rock band that can do a lot of different things interestingly and well without pretention and with passion. Congratulations to Switchfoot - you have a hard core new fan. I can only imagine how fun it would be to hear these songs live...

A Signal of New Things
I first saw Switchfoot when they were riding on the underground success of their single "Chem 6A." They were young, full of energy, playful, yet with serious undertones to their lyrics. That seriousness became more evident with each of the following albums. They showed maturity and skill that went beyond the average garage band, and "Learning to Breathe" proved to me that this was a group that would rise to the top. Then, with "Nothing is Sound," their darker side became ponderous. I liked the album, but understood why many revolted.

"Oh! Gravity" doesnt' find Switchfoot backing down from their sound or style, but it does show a leap forward in musical texture and in lyrics that question without floundering in the depths too long. The more I listen, the more I find to like. Songs that didn't grab me at first are now the ones I spin through again.

If the artsy simplicity of the cover isn't a signal of new things, then be prepared for a group that is taking it to another level. From guitar riffs, to vocals, to layers of sound, this is an album that belongs on the list of the year's best.

Switchfooot delivers a fresh, ambitious and thoroughly solid product
It's been three years since Switchfoot burst onto the mainstream scene with "The Beautiful Letdown", a record which went double-platinum and produced multiple radio hits, namely the rock anthems "Meant To Live" and "Dare You To Move". In 2005, Switchfoot followed up with "Nothing Is Sound", a noticeably darker and moody project which, strangely enough, was recorded entirely on the road despite the tight-sheen finish of the production. NIS received more mixed reviews, some criticizing it for being too "safe" and too reminiscent of the breakthrough TBL. While I rather enjoyed their latest outing, Nothing Is Sound was not very accessible: the dark subject matter grows thin on the listener after a time. While it's a great album to "rediscover" if you are in a fitting mood, it's not something you can listen to at any time.

With "Oh! Gravity", listeners concerned with predictability or accessibility can check their worries at the door. In their latest release, Switchfoot thunders back with a product that is at once ambitious and friendly. The new sound is a fusion of the upbeat and quirky "old Switchfoot" (pre-TBL days) with the hard rocking and existential pondering of the latter days, the result being a perfect blend of familiar rock with indie experimentation. Lead singer and songwriter Jon Foreman hones his already noteworthy craft by providing fresh looks at Switchfoot's Modus operandi: offering thought-provoking looks at (and criticisms of) materialism, consumerism, and complacency while maintaining a spiritual (though never preachy) bent. Foreman further flexes his creative muscles by introducing some fresh concepts into the songs. The title track, for instance, relies on a clever apostrophe with Foreman asking the physical law of gravity why its universal cohesiveness doesn't hold true in the social arena. Other notables include the characterization of the clock as an adversarial thief with "dirty second hands" in the song so aptly named. And Foreman once again proves that he is knowledgeable when he in one track compares the age-old tales of Dr. Faustus and King Midas to his own life experience.

Musically, Oh! Gravity takes Switchfoot to new heights. The band strikes the perfect balance of diversity; you'd be hard-pressed to find one track that sounds just like another. I don't find it appropriate to go through and rate each song on a record like this. Switchfoot successfully employs a variety of musical styles, including hard-rock, punk-rock, country twang, Britpop, psychedelic, and even Motown. Some tracks even combine styles to form a very unique outcome (i.e. Dirty Second Hands, 4:12) Yet Foreman has repeatedly stated that this record is about leaving all expectations behind and putting together the most honest product possible; pitch and theory take a backseat to feeling. Here, the band succeeds on sending the listeners through a rollercoaster of emotions:

The title track is a raucous 2 minute and 30 second release of fireball energy. American Dream exhibits hard-rocking passion. Dirty Second Hands unleashes the dobro and toys with the rhythm, creating an absorbing and hypnotic sound. Awakening is a throw-out-your-arms, larger-than-life anthem of hope. Circles is exotic and exquisite. Amateur Lover is just FUN. Faust is an engrossing story-song, ranging from soft to hard in just the right moments. Head Over Heels is a poetic love song. Yesterdays is sorrowful, lamenting the death of a loved one. Burn Out Bright, as guitarist Andrew Shirley has called it, is a "roll-down-the-windows" romp of meaning (with killer riffs). 4:12 is different...you have to hear it to really grasp it. And Let Your Love Be Strong, the closing ballad, is beyond my words to describe.

What makes this record stand out above others? I point to Switchfoot's ability to create a thoroughly SOLID record, as virtually every song is finely crafted and worth listening to. I don't believe it judging artists by their singles, but rather their finished products. Does this album have any songs that will climb the charts and surpass "Meant To Live" or "Dare You To Move" in terms of popularity? Not likely. Does the album contain tracks that are just as good, if not better? Absolutely. Though this record may not contain the same tailored-for-radio material that contributed to the band's breakthrough (there are, however, some songs I can see being successful on the airwaves), the collective effort is undoubtedly the best yet by the fellas from San Diego.