Are you listening What's up, everybody? Welcome
to Hey, Are You Listening? This is a podcast
exploring the past, present, and future of Christian
music. My name is Joel. I'm here with my good
friend Brandon. And we connected over mutual
love of some certain artists, but also have pretty
different tastes, which shows itself sometimes
on the show. But we get to experience new stuff
from each other. And sometimes we get to invite
some friends along for the ride. Brandon. How's
it going today? Oh, it's going wonderfully. Awesome.
Tell me more about that. It's winter, so I guess
it's going wonderfully. You're loving the cold
weather. As far as I can tell, it's going right
now as we begin the new year. Well, that's great.
I'm so thankful that things for you are wonderful
and that the cold is something that you're digging
into. So I love it. So we do have a guest with
us today. We'll get into that in just a little
bit. But before we kind of get into that, I thought
maybe we could just go ahead and talk about what
we've been listening to lately. So what have
you been listening to lately, Brandon? I think
that the beginning of the year, it's always a
there's a mixture of getting stuff that you get
for Christmas. and diving into it so it's stuff
that you love that maybe you have on vinyl now
or you know a physical CD or something um because
that's usually when i just wait i'll find something
i love and then i'll tell my mom like well hey
if you're looking to get me something get this
CD or whatever um so i appreciate that and then
i think it's cool whenever you go back through
your um I'm just blanking on what it's called,
but like the year -end stuff, like on Spotify,
I think Apple Music does that too. And so I think
almost it's looking back on the year. So yeah,
I just love diving in and getting to play some
Gable Price and Friends, Colony House, Last Bison,
just kind of, I guess. It's kind of fun too,
starting a new year and... It's like a blank
slate. Like who knows what's going to happen
this year, what we're going to get exposed to
this year. And I love that. Anything can happen.
And I'll probably listen to something this year
that will deeply affect me. Like so many albums
have in the past and I'm ready. Isn't that so
amazing? Because like this past year, I think
about like some of my favorite songs and CDs
that came out. I didn't even know these artists
existed in January. I hadn't even heard the name.
So to me, it's just cool that sometimes it feels
as though there is no good music or that you've
listened to everything and it's cool just getting
to discover that stuff. Or even on this podcast,
it's been cool. Like today's album, to go back
through and listen to something that, you know,
maybe I didn't listen to as much when I was younger,
but now I get to go back through and maybe appreciate
it a little bit more. Yeah, I love that. Yeah,
something that I've been listening to is there
was a band back in the early 2000s that I was
in my band. We were traveling and we ran into
them and played a show with them. But also they
were just Really good and and so we started trying
to find anything that we could find by them and
as a band called noise ratchet and they recently
got back together to play at the 2024 Furnace
Fest Which I was able to go to and able to see
him live and got to chat with him a little bit
afterwards But they just put out a couple of
months ago a new record called freedom which
they haven't done anything in so long. And when
I was talking to them at Furnace Fest, they were
just like, yeah, we had no idea that this was
ever gonna happen. But it's just kind of cool
to see not only did they get together for a show,
but they also ended up making a new record. And
it's fun to see life come back for some of these
artists. And so. Um, that record's been a fun
one for me to listen to. That's awesome. Yeah.
So, all right, well let's transition and we'll
start talking about our record for today. Well
today is a fun opportunity for us because once
again we have our friend David Zack from the
band Remedy Drive who is here with us To talk
about a record that he brought to us. So David,
it's great to have you with us again today, man
We're thankful for you spending some time with
us Yeah, and this is a fun way to spend some
time actually so I'm excited about this So so
Brandon asked you to pick out an album that you'd
like to talk about. What are you? What album
are you bringing to us today? Hello hurricane
by the band switch for it Man, this is it's gonna
be fun. Yeah, I love this It'll be a fun thing
to talk through so I pulled some information
just quick bio So I'll read this and then we'll
kind of get into our thoughts So hello hurricane
is the seventh studio album by American alternative
rock band switch foot released on November 10th
2009 so it was co -produced by the band and Mike
Elizondo after initially self producing their
work as well as running some test runs with producers
like Charlie Peacock. The album was recorded
mainly in the band's Spot X studio that they
built to record this record in their own hometown
of San Diego. It was originally to be released
on October 6th, 2009, but pushed back to November
10th on their brand new independent record label,
the Atlantic Distributed Lowercase People Records.
And on February 13th, 2011 the album won the
award for best rock gospel album at the 53rd
Grammy Awards. So one of the things that I just
thought interesting was interesting about that
in the background of this is is they they spent
a lot of energy like putting this record together
and it's almost like they recorded an album and
were like, um, that's not quite it. Let's, let's
try this again or redo this in a different space
or with a different producer. And it seems like
they kind of walked through that a few times
before they kind of felt like this is it. This
is the one that we, we want to get out there.
I'd be super interested in hearing some of those
others. So, and why, like hearing why it wasn't
what they wanted or or why they'd want another
shot at a song, or how many of those songs were
redone? That'd be interesting. Yeah, for sure.
And obviously, I think this is a big record for
them, and it kind of moves them in a different
kind of direction. We can talk about that a little
bit as we get into it. But just kind of some
opening thoughts for us as we start the conversation.
Maybe just with Switchfoot in general, how did
Switchfoot come to be a part of our lives and
bands that... we listen to. Brandon, for you,
where did Switchfoot kind of enter in? I remember
being, I loved Meant to Live. So it was on the
radio constantly. And I remember thinking like,
man, I was like, this is funny because like,
this could also, this would almost be like a
Christian song. That's what it kind of sounds
like. And then later on realizing, oh, they were,
because I guess at the time it was just, I wasn't
used to like hearing like, quote unquote, like
Christian bands on like, our regular radio. And
so that's kind of my first taste into Switchfoot
was that. And I remember like, so I loved all
of their like rock songs, but then whenever these
like quieter, these ballads, I would always like,
ah, it's a skip track. So I remember growing
up just not fully appreciating Switchfoot. So
I was pretty excited to get to listen to this
album. and give it a second chance and actually
get to go through it now that I feel like I've
matured a little bit in my music taste. Yeah,
that's fun. David, for you, where did when did
Switchfoot become a thing for you? Like, when
did you first hear them? We were already touring
a lot, so I heard their name a lot because they
were playing a lot of college campuses. And so
it was it was the Meant to Live album. The beautiful
letdown was the first so those three big songs
on there the first that I really listened to
And for me, it was the first time That a 2000s
Arab band it had a radiohead vibe, but then it
also had Like a little more of a rock. Yeah,
but just enough Maybe almost a little too much,
like for my taste of how far I wanted to go on
the rock side. It was more polished rock than
Radiohead, but still accessible to me. And I
just love the way he phrased stuff. He just said
things differently, both the way his vocal texture,
but also the way he picked words. So it kind
of caught my attention. Yeah, I love that. That
Radiohead comparison. I remember thinking that
the first time that I listened to The Beautiful
Letdown as I was like, they're doing like something
sonically that they haven't done before. So Switchfoot
entered in for me a little earlier, I think then
for you guys. I don't remember where honestly,
but I heard the track off their first album,
The Legend of Chin, Kim 6A, somewhere on a sampler
I'm sure that I got. because I was always just
like soaking up these like Christian rock samplers.
And I think I heard Kim 6A and I'm like, what
in the world is this? Like, this is so good.
And then I bought into the next record as well,
New Way to Be Human. And then learning to breathe
their third record before, before the Beautiful
Letdown came out. I remember vividly like a Apparently
like Switchfoot got turned down by like a lot
of record labels when they first came onto the
scene and they were trying to get a record deal
and one of my favorite marketing things ever
from a band was that by the time Learning to
Breathe came out which is an album that I desperately
love. um on the like they used to put stickers
on the front of like the cellophane for a record
and there were all these stickers and all that
it had was um all these record label executives
that had not signed them early on saying how
stupid they were that they wished they would
have signed this band and that was like the marketing
for that record was all these executives saying
i can't believe we missed out on releasing records
like this um and so i thought that was it was
like Tooth and Nail, it was like Steve Taylor.
It was great. I just thought that was a lot of
fun. Alright, well, let's talk. Yeah, let's talk
a little bit about hello hurricane Itself and
so we'll kind of walk through this Track by track
and kind of give our thoughts so if at home You
want to you can pull up the record and kind of
listen to it along with us as we're as we're
talking through things But the first track on
hello hurricane is the song needle and haystack
life What do you guys think about this as an
opener? So for me, I enjoyed it. David, I always
talk about how I feel like I see a lot of albums
almost like a concert. Like if I was hearing
this concert, if I was hearing this album from
start to finish, how would I feel about it? And
I like it because I think it's a nice buildup.
Like to me, if you would have started with like
a mess of me or something, I think it doesn't
fit the album. But I think that this... This
song does a good job of kind of setting up what
you're gonna get out of the album Yeah, so I
I enjoyed it as an opener Yeah, and they played
it front to back too didn't they I'm I think
they did. Yeah on that tour They played it front
to back and then they came back out and played
other switch fit songs And so I agree that it
sets the tone because it's a new tone for them
I think if I'm right, it comes after three really
polished big label albums. Is that right? So
it's stripped back a little bit. It's a little
more raw, organic sounds. The acoustic instruments
being really upfront in the mix throughout the
album, but on Needle in particular, and John's
singing is less... It's a little less hard rock
and a lot more Indie rock sounding. Yeah. Yeah
I I kind of was thinking through the same things
too. Like I feel like there's more air to breathe
on this record And then some of the ones before
it and I I'm a sucker for that I love anything
that feels more like I'm in the room with a band
Um, and there's a lot, there's a lot of that
on here, which I really like, but I think it's
a great, it's a great song, super, super driving.
Um, I immediately like listening to it again
for this. Um, I went and added it to my running
playlist just because it's got such a good steady
beat. And I'm like, man, I can just keep going,
um, to this one. So yeah, I think it's a great
track. That high note is something else that.
Yeah. or first note of the chorus, like that's
up there. John's an incredible singer. I like
that. David, how do you feel about Mess of Me?
Mess of Me is for me as a guitar player was a
game changer, big time. Like the tone of that
guitar riff and then just is the first time we're
John can just be like so, um, he was different.
It was more, it really felt like, like the blues
lived in a way in John that didn't, was maybe
suppressed by the overproduction of the previous
three or four albums. Yeah, it, it was fun because
the, like, you're exactly right. The guitar work,
you're moving more away from these, like, Heavy
deep riffs into kind of some more classic guitar
Work that's happening and with some of these
lines you still got riffs Which is like a switch
foot thing, but the riffs are different on this
record than they were on the ones like leading
up to it like in a way where where it's like,
okay, yeah, you could see a a switch foot Creed
co -headlining thing from the best days But not
Hello, Hurricane, you know without demeaning
Switch foot to the Creed level Like like but
they wouldn't get along is good with this album
and in a great way. Yeah Yeah, this one this
one's already on my running playlist. It was
already there. I have a lot of switch foot on
there And I think this is just such a great song.
I love the like I love the breaks in it where
just the vocals stand out like in a in a really
strong way and like even the bridge later when
um when he's he's like singing there ain't no
yeah yeah and like it's like his vocals and the
guitar are like doing the same thing yeah yeah
i think is is really cool um i yeah and the message
of the song i think is really good too And so
this is this one of my favorite tracks on the
record. I put down I don't know if it's a like
if it's a popular or unpopular opinion But I
was like is this one of the Mount Rushmore like
switch foot songs if you were choosing those
like for For me, like I love the guitar. I love
like the breaks, too I just remember like when
they first came out loving the breaks and this
is a song that like it's a song that like you're
almost afraid to go back and listen to because
you're like You know, there's some stuff you
go back and you think oh this was not as good
as I thought But I feel like I love this song
as much as I loved it like the first time I heard
it Yeah, yeah, that's good So track three go
ahead Oh with the with the uh guitar tones Like
it would be easy To have the meant to live guitar
tone on the rest of me rips It'd be expected
to be easy. And maybe part of what answers our
earlier question is they needed to spend some
time to find a tone that's new and different
and represents this chapter for them better and
fits with such an acoustic heavy album. Yeah.
Yeah. That's my two cents. I love that. I think
it's great. So track three kind of moves in that
other direction. Your love is a song. I just
will get to our thought. One of the things that
I thought was really interesting is like this
is This is the third in a trilogy of songs about
God's love, that there was a switch -fit song,
Let Your Love Be Strong, and then he released,
in part of a solo work, the song Your Love Is
Strong, and then here you have the Your Love
Is A Song, and so I just thought that's kind
of a cool thing that carries through his work.
What did you guys think about this one? I feel
like John's vocals are so unique, so I love a
song where They just really get to like shine
and you can see how it's just so Different or
at least for me from what like I've like I've
heard I remember just thinking like the songs
just like beautiful. I guess that's the way like
I Described it. Yeah, I I really loved it. Mm
-hmm Similar to the opening track the high note
of the first note of the chorus is just soaring
And then even though some of the lyric for John
at my first take was like, oh, this seems maybe
on first listen, I was like, well, this doesn't
seem this seems like lyric I've heard before.
Yeah. But then when you dive into it, it's like,
no, this is uniquely switch. What's the way of
saying these really important things? Yeah, I
love that. Yeah, I think it's a good, a good
track, a really good track for sure. And it's
one of them. like more popular songs on this
record, just looking at like listenings, listeners,
how many listeners that they've had. I think
if I had to pick from the trilogy of songs, like
My Heart probably goes to Your Love is Strong
off of his solo stuff. I just really, really
love that. But this is a great one. So we move
into the sound next. David, was it sounding good
for you? Yeah, this one this one was mess of
me Was great, but this one that didn't didn't
didn't didn't didn't didn't it was totally new
like it was totally new and then For me this
hit me with bringing in John and Perkins Which
is such a great and subtle way to introduce a
large number of people to such an important and
influential figure in the civil rights movement.
Yeah Um, I got to meet him with my kids actually
and I wouldn't have gone and found him had I
not Been such a fan of this song and the music
video that goes with this song Yeah, I love that
it's um, so I grew up in mississippi and so I
grew up in john and perkins like backyard not
literally, but almost and um, so just the the
like weight of of his work, um, I remember reading
reading his book, Let Justice Roll Down, which
I really recommend. It's a wonderful, wonderful
book. But I agree with you. And I think when
this album came out, Switchfoot did a concert
in his backyard or something in Jackson, Mississippi,
which is wild. I was already gone at that point.
But I just, man, yeah, this is a great one. It's
a lot of fun. And I love. Like you said, David,
just the light that it brings to a man who spent
his life laboring for things that really matter,
just to be able to expose that, I think is awesome.
Yeah, what stood out to me was the guitars that
David had mentioned. As someone as a kid, I loved
getting a CD, opening it up, and just following
along with the booklet as the song goes. I love
a song where it goes a step further. And now
there's like an individual or there's something
that they reference that now it's like, all right,
let me pause this and go research. So like, I
just I love any song that lets me pause. I mean,
like, like me without you release an album, I
feel like I would spend like a couple of days
on each song just trying to pour through every
little reference that was thrown in there. Yeah.
And so yeah, I love getting to dive in and get
introduced to not only like a great song, but
also you get to learn about like this individual
or this situation or whatever it is. Yeah. Yeah.
It's a really, a really good one. I'm thankful.
My favorite memory of seeing it live was the
summer of 2019, which for a lot of us in our
memory, 2020 over shadows, 2019. uh when it comes
to racial tape in our country but 2019 was there
right up there almost he said let justice roll
about and they they stopped on the bridge and
just said let justice roll again and again and
again uh in that in that particular performance
in michigan and it was for me that's where that
song lives in my memory yeah that's great Um,
so track five on the record is enough to let
me go. Um, so as somebody that like incorporated
really early switch foot into their listening
and shaped a lot for me musically, I feel like,
um, I felt like this song like harkens back to
like, um, really like pre um beautiful let down
switch foot in some some fun ways it's got kind
of a little quirky like guitar thing at the beginning
um there's some cool like um melody shifting
that's that's like happening um it's like chill
switch foot but like it's uniquely switch foot
like nobody else writes a chiller song like this
and plus i think the bridge is just incredible
so um i really really like this one About you
David I'm I was just trying to imagine Because
here I have a confession make I never really
went back into those early days and when I did
It didn't I didn't get it Other than the the
walk to remember Eric, you know And so some of
them Some of those songs I don't have that emotional
connection to him because I didn't experience
them as they're happening, right? But for me,
yeah, this one was a nice Yeah, we needed it
after John M Perkins. We needed after the sound
we need to come down a little bit Yeah, and to
be tender again Yeah, and he doesn't like like
talk about high notes like he's singing a lot
and his falsetto on the song It works really
well his just the smooth kind of transitions
from his natural voice to his falsetto like John's
just such a good, unique singer. I think like
lyrically I loved it, but I guess like younger
Brandon that just wants like the fast food, like
I don't want to sit down and enjoy a home. I
went like the, no, let's keep this rolling. Let's
get back with the like rock, the guitars, the
rock, blah, blah, blah. Um, so I think like musically,
like I, um, I didn't like love it as much as
the previous ones, but I feel like, like lyrically
it was just as strong as, um, the other ones
before it. Yeah, it's all right, guys. We'll
get you exposed to some of this earlier Switchfoot
stuff. You'll get to experience the gold that's
there. It's different, but nobody was doing what
they were doing. And so it's great. That's great.
All right. So next up, we move into Free. Joel,
how do you feel about Free? Yeah, Free is...
It's probably not one of my favorite tracks on
the record. You've got the switch fit riff thing
going. I like the verse melody a lot. And I do
like the like, inside the shell is a prison cell,
like that part of it. But I kind of just wanted
the like, anthematic chorus, but it's more of
like a kind of like chill, thoughtful. free I
don't know it just yeah it's not my favorite
one but it's good. How about you David? Yeah
it's not my favorite one either it and it but
it artistically it rounds the album out it has
more like the uh it's a different instrumentation
yeah it feels like it blends it feels like it
needs to exist in the album because it takes
the sound and mess of me and it has this nice
rawness mixed in with the acoustic vibes mixed
in with the kind of I think man I wonder if they
brought in I it feels like they have some some
Delta Mississippi Delta overall on some of these
riffs in the whole album I hadn't thought about
that yeah I wonder if the John M Perkins piece
it's a nod to some of the blues guys I never
even made that connection to right now but I
feel like that that riff feels kind of like We
connected on the last episode about us solo activator
and Solomon like they had that the Dirty South
then by like the Mississippi Delta that that
I Don't know I didn't love the song as much but
I think it's needed. Yeah, I hear that I think
that I I felt like a flip I guess like with the
other one like the slow down I enjoyed that it
picked back up a little bit So I think for me
like I'll flip the tracks and be like this was
one that I enjoyed like the pick up one on so
Next up we move into hello hurricane David what
were your thoughts on the title track? It's crazy
that it's because you're coming out of the tension
of the song before it and yet you feel Before
I mean it's hello hurricane, but you feel like
it feels like the calm after a storm in some
ways You know I mean when it starts it feels
so warm and like inviting and like relieving
And and I I want like that's how I feel with
the instrumentation right away But then what
an amazing thing you can't silence my love like
hello hurricane. You're not enough. You can't
silence my love And yeah, of course they were
thinking Louisiana. That was right after Katrina,
that they're writing this. Yeah, I think for
me, there's not a single thing about this track
that I don't love. Talk about Mount Rushmore
songs. This is probably up there for me, for
them. Everything about it, the guitar work at
the beginning, it feels different. Like it's
riffy, but it's different riffy than anything
they've done before sonically and so I just love
that the chorus is great I love that. This is
a thing they do not just on this album, but they
do it a few times on this album where The vocal
melody on the second verse is different from
the vocal melody on the first verse and bands
tend to like use different words, but the same
vocal melody and John will just change the vocal
melody on the second verse and it is like so
effective because you have the same structure
underneath it but he's doing something completely
different and I love that and the bridge is great.
I just think man this is a great song. I really
like whenever you guys go first I feel like a
track like this, like I loved it, but I don't
know how to explain it. So then I can just like
copy and paste and be like, you know what, I
agree with what was just said. It's a great track.
That's a great point though, that you made on
the, on the, on a different melody on the second
verse and the first verse. I didn't thought of
that. Yeah. And they do it also on, um, I think
on Needle and Haystack Life, I'm thinking there's,
there's another song or two on this record that
that that happens on. Oh, he does it on it enough
to let me go too. And so it's a fun thing that
not a lot of artists do that. Bono is an example
of someone who does that. But not a lot of artists
do it. And I think like you want your vocal melodies
to be really good. And so you like land on something.
You're like, yep, we're going to do this. This
is great. But to be able to pull that off twice.
in two different ways i think is is great and
i love that john does that i think it makes him
stand out all right what about track number eight
always brandon what were your thoughts on this
one um i think i i like the like bells that are
on the bridge um part but i think this was the
first track that i just found myself not not
really caring for like up until this point i
um like Pretty much liked every track. But yeah,
I think this was the first one that just didn't
I I'm not sure why it just didn't didn't really
like click for me Wow, yeah david you need to
set him straight Like for me, it's weird hearing
that they got nominated for a gospel grammy on
this song or won the gospel grammy, right gospel.
Yeah gospel rock album Whereas this this one
feels on the album this feels like it's straightforward,
you know Even though it could I feels like it
could be to his wife or from the perspective
of his daughter to John like this feels like
the most Religious song of the group in that
sense But it's moving, you know, like and it
repeats I I liked it It's not gonna be one that
I turned to right away either, but I liked it
Yeah, I don't. So if when when I was thinking,
all right, we're going to cover Hello Hurricane
always is not a song that I'm like, oh, yeah,
I can't wait to talk about that song. But when
I was listening to it, I loved everything about
it. Yeah, I love the piano. It's it's so good.
And that's such a different like texture for
them that you. rarely like get to hear them use.
And so I thought that was cool. You've got this
reverse guitar thing going into verse two. And
the bridge is just unbelievable. And so I like
I actually, I came out of it thinking, man, this
is one of my favorite tracks on the record. And
so I'm sorry, Brandon, this is just one of those
places where we're gonna disagree. But maybe,
I don't know, maybe you just need to spend some
more time with it. I think so. It does make me
sad how many times I feel like I'm The one that's
on the side being like I didn't really care for
this one. Then it turns into this song changed
my life I mean, I wouldn't go that far. But um,
but I do think it's a really good one. So Um
move next up. We move over to bullet soul. Uh,
what are your thoughts on that david? Bullet
soul is not It feels to me as we get deeper into
the album That it's a little less cohesive as
an album and bullet bullet soul. I like the I
like the I Like how he yells like it it feels
like the rest of the album But then I like some
of the I don't know how to describe the guitar.
They're thin and crunchy like crispy And I like
that stuff. It's creative and stuff But I don't
think the album needed it necessarily, but it's
a cool song Yeah, I would agree with that. I
like that you mentioned the guitars being thin
and crunchy because that's that's like an early
switch fit sound. Yeah, I feel like they're bringing
back into play here. Like I remember hearing
about. Oh man, see, I'm not going to remember
the name of the song now, but there was one song
on learning to breathe that, um, that they kept
recording the guitars for and they couldn't get
a sound that they liked. And then they ended
up just keeping the scratch guitars that they
use when they were recording the vocals, um,
because they were that like kind of thin sound.
And I kind of felt that here too with bullet
soul, but at the same time, um, I actually think
this is a really good song. And this one thing
that I noticed as I was listening to this record
is that I think for like a lot of bands, I would
say Bullet Soul is probably like a four or a
five as a song. But for Switchfoot, it's just
not it's not there because the the like the level
of everything that they produce is like so high.
Yeah. That like it just doesn't stand out amidst
everything else they do, even though maybe for
another band this this would be like a highlight.
So. I think that that is interesting because
like I think you know going back to meant to
live being the first switch foot one I listened
to I feel like I don't know if that song is the
best represent I mean maybe some people would
say but I think that sometimes I think that you
don't it almost sets you up not to enjoy you
know like I like the track always I think maybe
that's my take my takeaway would have been like
oh it's kind of just this like going back and
forth instead of enjoying like the heart of it.
So I think you bring up a good point about how,
you know, like it's a great song, but like as
far as like a switch foot song, I know for me,
like I've always, I feel like it's a song that
gets you like pumped up and ready to go. Like
I remember listening to this in the car and I
was like, man, this is one of the songs you could
put in any commercial. Like it could be about
like body wash. It could be about a Subaru, whatever.
And I definitely could hear it in a car commercial.
Yeah. So yeah, I appreciate that. I was like,
yeah, I'm ready. I'm ready to go. I written it
and I love to scream too. I love whenever john
screams and something or yells or whatever I
think you're right and that I could hear bullet
soul in a car commercial whereas always I feel
like would be In a movie soundtrack when somebody's
like about to die or something. Um, and so that's
interesting. All right track number 10 yet Um,
what'd you guys think about yet? I think I I
enjoyed it. Um I described it as like a stripped
down track. I enjoyed that and I think that you
get to appreciate a lot of the little things
about Switchwood when you don't have all of the
bigger stuff going on. That was kind of my take
on it. Yeah. For me, it's still like these last
several are artistic and important but don't
feel like the... The meat of the album and as
when I put an album together, I always sometimes
I try not to over to front load it. You know
what I mean? Yeah, totally. And I feel like this
yet. Yet didn't it doesn't. It's not as memorable
for me. Yeah, but I think I fall in the same
category. I probably wouldn't think of high as
highly of it as I do even at not a super high
level if. If it wasn't for like that line in
the idea of if it doesn't break your heart, it
isn't love. Um, I just, man, that's like a classic
John Foreman line that I just think there's so
much there and that's, it's just a really beautiful
line. That's the highlight of the track for me
is that, yeah. Yeah, I, I, I'm with you on that.
And I remember my brother posted it on, uh, his
Facebook was what we had in those days and it
was so it should have been a tweet but my brother
posted that line and then somebody has given
him grief like uh like like what's that mean
like okay that's great that's what a good a good
quote should do absolutely is create some uh
some uh discomfort for people and it is it's
a cool uncomfortable line yeah i love it um next
we move into sing it out um david what are your
thoughts on it This one man, I mean it's such
a bold and different move for them like the I
don't know how they're getting that effect And
so it stayed so dark and tense for so long, you
know what I mean? Which it just feels like the
Psalms. Yeah, it feels like what's best of the
Psalms the whole way through it Yeah, I love
the production on this one because it is so different
Such a different feel like if I had to pick a
song that I feel like on this back section of
the record That's like a highlight for me. I
think it would be this one. I agree just like
the drawn -out nature of it that there's just
that he's painting a picture not just in the
words, but even in the way he's communicating
it musically and lyric like Giving the giving
us the lyrics that there's like an aching and
a waiting and a yearning and I I just love that
I think it's so different. Yeah. Yeah, I enjoy
that you have this like build -up you have this
like journey you're going on and I appreciate
it. It also felt like just there was I guess
like to David's point it felt like you had some
of these like like a longer songs like at the
end so like at the beginning you had the like
the mess of me's like the sound and all so it's
like it makes me wonder if you how does the album
sound maybe if you would have thrown maybe one
more of those like in the back to the kind of
shake like shake it up a little bit um i just
kind of found myself at the end being like oh
i feel like a lot of these older songs are like
uh the the last songs are like four or five minute
songs or whatever um So, which I guess that brings
us to our last song, Red Eyes. Joel, what were
you thinking about Red Eyes? Yeah, I thought
this was an interesting end to the record. I
like the bells. I think there's a banjo in there
somewhere, which who would have ever thought
that? I think my favorite thing about this one
is at the very end, like the slight melodic and
lyrical callbacks to the first song Needle and
Haystack Life that you get just kind of tying
the record together and making it feel like a
circle that you're in. It's not like it's something
that ends, but something that just keeps going.
And that's like a really subtle thing. Um, but
um, but I really like that because as I was hearing
that at the end, it made me want to go back to
the beginning and start over. Um, which I think
is a cool, a cool touch. Yeah. What about you,
David? I mean, that's exactly what I would say.
It's, it's a bookend, right? And like, and so
it, it pulls in all the, but, but even in thinking
of the, like hearing the instrumentation in my
mind and the It was a different style of it was
like not folksy. I don't know the right but there
was Americana to it. Yeah, and a muted might
be the word like like Sorry, my son's that's
right like repeat calling me over He did it three
times you're good, man Sorry for all the editing
you're gonna have to do. No, you're fine Like
there's a mutedness to to it that finds its way
I don't know how to describe it to a non -musician
like it's when you're when you're when you're
Dampening the strings with your thumb around
your skin to make it so it's not so brittle and
bright. There's a nice Like it seems Like there's
a nice texture to it that it rounds the album
out. Well, yeah, I agree I think that, yeah,
I feel like it's, like I said earlier, if you
look at, if you look at an album as a, that was
at a concert, I feel like it's a great way that
after you've had these, just everything else
mixed together, I think it like lands the plane
really well, is that you feel like it ties it
a little bit, makes it a little more cohesive.
So yeah. That's good. Well, let's just quickly
kind of wrap it up and talk through kind of our
overall ratings for the record. And so I don't
mind going first real quick. And so for me, like
it was fun for me to go back. I haven't listened
to this record from start to finish in quite
a while. And so I really enjoyed getting to do
that and remembering, man, I really love this
album. And I do think that it's one of the best
records that Switchfoot has released. And so
for me, I think I'm going to give it a four.
uh four out of five um it's it's really up there
uh really up there for me what about you david
i would say 4 .2 i love it and and that's like
that's for me you you want like it is way up
there like my fives are gonna be joshua tree
weezer's blue album yeah amen amen sam's town
uh you're speaking all my languages right now
i love it so when it's in there like a 4 .2 doesn't
seem like it's a high praise. 4 .1 is a high
praise. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. I think I'll
split the middle and do a 4 .1 then. Like I said,
I went into it, I was like, man, I hope that
I have matured enough to appreciate this because
I'm like, it's gonna be awkward if it's the first
episode we did was with my wife. and the album
we did i was i gave it a 2 .5 because i was like
i love half of this but the other half i don't
care for at all so it was really awkward to set
the tone so but this one Yeah. So this is, I
think, our most cohesive, like, rating for a
record ever. Four and a 4 .1 and a 4 .2. And
I think this just speaks a little bit to who
Switchfoot is, that they bring people together.
They're uniting us all around things that are
important and things that matter. Yeah, I love
that we're kind of all on the same page with
this one. It's a great record. It's been a lot
of fun to get to dig into and talk to you. So
David, we're especially thankful that you took
some more time out to chat with us through this
today. And we just appreciate you and appreciate
everything that you guys are doing. Anything
that you kind of want to say again about how
people can connect with you and and what you
guys are doing Real quick before you take off
Yeah for fans of especially like this this album
I think People would like remedy drive my bands
album resuscitate and hopes not giving up this
the indie album hope not giving up Because switch
foot is one of my top five influences for sure
which is so for me this conversation has been
a lot of fun because going back through I you
know I'm with my family today and this album
reminded me of my family at different points
in our in our when the kids were little like
so that was fun thinking about it today in that
context RemedyDrive .com is our where you can
find out about our band and if you go to the
end there slash daylight united you can see about
the work that we're doing combatting human trafficking.
Yeah. And if you didn't get a chance to check
out the first time that we had David on, we were
able to talk all about that and everything that
they're engaged in. And so we encourage you to
go back and check that out so that you can find
out how you can plug in and be involved in what
they're doing around the world through that.
So David, again, thanks, man. We appreciate you
taking the time to be with us today. Yeah, thanks
for having me on. Yeah, it's been a joy. Thanks.
Alright, well before we finish today, let's take
some time and look at our lyric of the week.
So the lyric of the week this week comes from
this album Hello Hurricane by Switchfit. One
of my favorite lyrics from the record. They lock
our souls in cages we hide inside our shells
It's hard to free the ones you love when you
can't forgive yourself Yeah, I don't know just
as I was listening to that again through it made
me just remember that that That we have to kind
of work through ourselves and our own stuff and
sometimes before we can step out and love somebody
else the way that we need to. And so, yeah, I
don't know. I just thought that was a fun thing
for this week. So we're really thankful that
you've joined us as we've been able to talk through
this record, Hello Hurricane. It was fun to spend
some time with David and get to hear his thoughts
on this as well. You can find us online on Facebook.
Hey, are you listening? We are on X as well.
But of course, we would love it if you would
subscribe to the podcast if you want to leave
us a review. We're just so thankful for everybody
that's been taking the time to listen to these
episodes each week. And we just hope and pray
that you'll continue to join us. for the journey
ahead. So thanks for hanging out with us and
we'll look forward to seeing you back next week.