Driven Far Off

On the day after Christmas comes an album from a band practiced in giving: after their sixth studio album, Switchfoot has given listeners an earful of inspiration, or at the very least, a different perspective on life. Why Oh! Gravity was released after Christmas rather than the Tuesday before it or whether the album will sell enough copies to reach gold-plus status like their previous Nothing Is Sound did is unknown to me, but apparently front man Jon Foreman is not too worried about that (myCCM).

Oftentimes on Gravity Foreman-and-team â┚¬Ã…”deliberately went back to the first take and the rough draftâ┚¬? (CCM Magazine) for honestyâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s sake. Having done so may have brought the quality of musicianship down a level, but honesty seems to be what Switchfoot was really striving for on this album. So if while enjoying some naturally appealing songs, you can also put up with more than one underdeveloped tune and a few awkward moments, youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll hear a bunch of wholesome messages about life and a bandâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s â┚¬Ã…”honestâ┚¬? approach to songwriting.

Oh! Gravity starts off strong with their latest single, the title track. This thought-provoking song about hatred and conflict is consistent with the sound Switchfoot established on their last two albums, and itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s an improvement from Nothing Is Soundâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s â┚¬Ã…”Stars,â┚¬? but is not as exceptional as The Beautiful Letdownâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s â┚¬Ã…”Meant to Live.â┚¬? However, there is another song on the album that could compete. Track four on Gravity has enough verve to stir anyone into a delightful dance. When Switchfoot plays â┚¬Ã…”Awakeningâ┚¬? live, you can bet everyone in the house will be moving or jumping. It would really be a disservice to the media and to listeners if itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s not picked as their next single.

To be quite frank, though, there are too many filler songs on the album to be enjoyed from beginning to end. â┚¬Ã…”Dirty Second Handsâ┚¬? drones on somewhat like the ticking of a clock, which youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve got to assume the band intended. Sure, its depressing mood matches that of the title, but the song would have more effectively changed the pace of the album if it were more to the liking of â┚¬Ã…”Dare You to Moveâ┚¬? from The Beautiful Letdown. Sorry to say but no songs on Gravity quite equal the emotional outpouring of that classic song. On the other hand, to Switchfootâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s credit they have been there, done that and now they are experimenting with a different stylistic approach.

The song â┚¬Ã…”Amateur Loversâ┚¬? has an interesting vibe. It features the sitar and sounds like The Clash meets The Beatles meets The Stones. As soon as Foremanâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s vocals kick in, the song quickly turns sour because they do not compliment the music well at all. In this song, as well as the next, â┚¬Ã…”Faust, Midas, and Myself,â┚¬? Foremanâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s voice is boring and repetitive and just about everything you donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t want to hear. In fact the lyrics in the latter are practically spoken rather than sung. This is truly a shame because his non-materialistic view in the song needs so badly to be heard.

Other less-than-stellar songs include â┚¬Ã…”Yesterdaysâ┚¬? and â┚¬Ã…”4:12.â┚¬? Other standout tracks on the record are â┚¬Ã…”American Dream,â┚¬? â┚¬Ã…”Circles,â┚¬? â┚¬Ã…”Head Over Healsâ┚¬? and â┚¬Ã…”Burn Out Bright.â┚¬? There are also a few mediocre tracks on Oh! Gravity that have both good and bad qualities. This record should probably have been reduced to an EP in order to eliminate deadwood songs, or at least Switchfoot ought to have refined them until they were complete. â┚¬Ã…”Honestyâ┚¬? is hardly ever associated with music â┚¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ lyrics yes, but not music. If Switchfootâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s goal was to affect people with their honesty, perhaps they should have expressed their message through twelve perfected tracks.

Track List:
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