Switchfoot: Oh! Gravity

Label: Columbia

Sound/Style: melodic guitar-driven modern rock with early '80s influences

The latest release from the California band Switchfoot explores contradictions between the way things are designed to behave and the ways they deviate from that design. That theme informs the track "Amateur Lovers," a semi-sweet look at fumbling attempts to meet our own emotional needs: "We've all got a disease/ Deficiency of love/ Every day we still try/ Every night we still cry/ We're driving home on the 805/ We don't know what we're doing/ We do it again/ We're just amateur lovers/ With amateur friends." The sizeable Christian segment of Switchfoot's audience may chalk up such quandaries to the fall of humankind, while secular fans might discern something else in the probing lyrics of songwriter and vocalist Jon Foreman. Such is Foreman's talent for widespread accessibility, a knack which has won the band respect on both sides of the well-protected border between Christian and mainstream product. Once again, Switchfoot deftly maintains musical and spiritual integrity on their Columbia album Oh! Gravity, a hard-hitting work overflowing with classic rock references. Especially noticeable are echoes of British punk- and pop-rock, as well as a deep bow to U2's urgent early '80s period. Original U2 producer Steve Lillywhite is on board for the new Switchfoot disc, a natural pairing that yields a sound majoring in aggression and minoring in atmosphere.