{"id":24935,"date":"2016-10-06T20:57:15","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T01:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/?p=24935"},"modified":"2016-10-06T20:57:15","modified_gmt":"2016-10-07T01:57:15","slug":"album-review-switchfoot-light-shines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/album-review-switchfoot-light-shines\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Switchfoot – Where the Light Shines Through"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"switchfoot\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Switchfoot<\/strong>
\n Where the Light Shines Through<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When an album titles tells a story, often times the thematic material of the album (i.e. lyrics) has something to say along the same lines. It appears that suffering, hardship and trials is what we\u2019re going to discuss here on this album.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The production was handled by John Fields, who did the multi-platinum hit The Beautiful Letdown<\/em>. You remember that album, right? It\u2019s the one I gave a 2.5 out of 5 rating to, our Managing Editor David Allen gave a 2 out of 5 and our indie rock reviewer said was \u201cperfectly titled \u2013 and I\u2019m not talking about the words \u2018The\u2019 or \u2018Beautiful.\u2019 Yeah, we got that one wrong. Even current HM Editor David Stagg was dogging that album. I recall a staff meeting where he mocked the album, reducing the sound as if its best songs as being annoying like the repeating melody of \u201cGone! Gone!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Switchfoot has gone on to develop as a career artist. This writer couldn\u2019t be more proud of them. Success spoils some people. Some musicians ride the party of success as if it\u2019s all about them. Others see themselves as artists and take their craft seriously. Switchfoot has obviously been the latter. They haven\u2019t rested on their laurels; they\u2019ve peaked more than once (Hello Hurricane<\/em> was another major milestone).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Switchfoot is just a good example of being a great artist. It feels good to watch them succeed. Here\u2019s to many more years that we\u2019ll be blessed with their art.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Frontman Jon Foreman has spread his wings, releasing a series of solo albums, joining other bands\/projects (like Fiction Family) and basically cranking out songs like sweat on a runner\u2019s brow. The dude\u2019s pretty amazing. Like a true artist, his best work shines forth in both audible sounds and words.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the frontman and chief songwriter, Where the Light Shines Through<\/em> chronicles pain, but it\u2019s not a sonic pity party. Apparently, there\u2019s an anchor in this writer\u2019s soul. This anchor is hope, which bookends the album with the opening parenthetical statement that \u201chope deserves an anthem\u201d and the closing song, \u201cHope is the Anthem.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One thing I\u2019ve always appreciated about this artist is he appears as if he measures his words carefully. While all surfers love to have fun, this one can get somber and serious on a dime, or so it seems.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tunes like \u201cFloat,\u201d which could\u2019ve been a MUTEMATH song with its bouncing rhythms and danceability, reflect fun. The title track heralds the wounds and scars of suffering as having great worth: \u201c\u2026your scars shine like dark stars \/ Yeah, your wounds are where the light shines through.\u201d The artist that quoted Dylan in the song, \u201cHappy is a Yuppie Word,\u201d waxes melancholy in an election year while singing, \u201cLooking for America,\u201d where he declares \u201cI\u2019m looking for your honesty in skeletons \/ Do away with your ignorance and arrogance \/ America the land of immigrants \/ Check the green card and pedigree \/ Bless the Choctaw and the Cherokee that we\u2019ll never see.\u201d Hip-hop gem Lecrae adds some passionate rhymes to the big dynamic song with energy bursts and almost chant repeats and swells. It\u2019s quite an epic song.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Day That I Found God\u201d might be the album\u2019s gem, though. It shows the wisdom in letting go. \u201cThe day I lost myself was the day that I found God.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what\u2019s been bothering Foreman, but I hope this Southern California kid hasn\u2019t had to endure the pain of broken relationships. He seems to declare his loyalty to someone in \u201cI Won\u2019t Let You Go\u201d and praises their value in \u201cIf the House Burns Down Tonight,\u201d stating: \u201cIf the house burns down tonight, I got everything I need when I got you by my side \/ And let the rest burn\u2026\u201d Sounds like his priorities are in the right place.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a few songs that sonically sound like the musical landscape since 2010. The floating melodies of \u201cShake This Feeling\u201d would fit right on modern rock radio anywhere. \u201cBull in a China Shop\u201d is another fun departure, using vocal syncopation to good effect. \u201cLive it Well\u201d sounds middle of the road sonically, offering up a kind of prayer to live this one life well. In \u201cHealer of Souls,\u201d the punchline of the Christian Mingle parody sketch on YouTube (watch<\/a> it) as the one so-called \u201csecular\u201d band Christians identify with, the band punches out an energetic invitation to reach out to the One that heals. It\u2019s one of the few songs where the tempo seems juxtaposed with the story, but the quiet and gentle feel of \u201cHope is the Anthem\u201d brings it all down at the end.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of good ear and heart food on this album. It satisfies the Switchfoot fan. Is it another breakthrough? An instant classic? I wouldn\u2019t say so. It feels good like a comfortable jacket. You slip it on and things feel better. That ain\u2019t bad. [Vanguard] Doug Van Pelt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Switchfoot Where the Light Shines Through   When an album titles tells a story, often times the thematic material of the album (i.e. lyrics) has something to say along the same lines. It appears that suffering, hardship and trials is what we\u2019re going to discuss here on this album.   The production was handled by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":24937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1392,4023,1798,2941],"class_list":["post-24935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-hm-magazine","tag-jon-foreman","tag-lecrae","tag-switchfoot","cat-17-id"],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review: Switchfoot - Where the Light Shines Through - The Original Heaven's Metal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/album-review-switchfoot-light-shines\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Doug Van Pelt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/album-review-switchfoot-light-shines\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/album-review-switchfoot-light-shines\/\",\"name\":\"Album Review: Switchfoot - Where the Light Shines Through - The Original Heaven's Metal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/album-review-switchfoot-light-shines\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/album-review-switchfoot-light-shines\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/switchfoot-landscape.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-07T01:57:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/#\/schema\/person\/b155afeb7086c8182b3bb3b435e68c4b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/album-review-switchfoot-light-shines\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/album-review-switchfoot-light-shines\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/album-review-switchfoot-light-shines\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/switchfoot-landscape.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/switchfoot-landscape.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/album-review-switchfoot-light-shines\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Album Review: Switchfoot – Where the Light Shines Through\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/\",\"name\":\"The Original Heaven's Metal\",\"description\":\"Former Editor-in-Chief. 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