Named after a surfing term, Grammy Awarding winning San Diego, California based pop rock quintet Switchfoot have been successfully navigating the youth obsessed fickle world of popular music for over two decades now. Formed in 1996 around the nucleus of Foreman brothers Jon (lead vocals/guitar) and Tim (bass) with Chad Butler on drums the lineup has grown over the years to include Jerome Fontamillas (guitar/keyboards) and Drew Shirley (guitar).
Native Tongue is Switchfoot’s 11th studio album in the 22 years that have passed since they released their debut album The Legend Of Chin in 1997. Three of the latest albums 14 expansive tracks were co-written with the help of OneRepublic bassist and cello player Brent Kutzle (incidentally, the same number of tracks Kutzle’s OneRepublic bandmate Ryan Tedder helped co-write with Paul McCartney for his 2018 #1 album Egypt Station).
Clocking in at a lengthy 52 minutes Native Tongue is a slick and professional affair with The Foreman Brothers production team painstakingly setting the tone throughout. Taut and nuanced the album is a safe mixed palette featuring a kaleidoscope of colour from pop radio anthems (Let It Happen, Native Tongue, All I Need, Voices), ballads (Prodigal Son, Wonderful Feeling, Oxygen, You’re The One I Want), one fine rocker (Take My Fire) and an interesting Beatles inspired curio with album stand out track Dig New Streams. While not exactly pushing any new boundaries or exploring revolutionary ground in the field of popular music Native Tongue is nonetheless a thoroughly pleasant pleasing listen from beginning to end.
Rating 7/10
Star Rating 3.5/5
2019 Song Of The Day Club 11/52