This compilation combines Switchfoot’s first three albums (The Legend Of Chin, New Way To Be Human, and Learning To Breathe) into one package. For the individual ratings of those records, please see their reviews.
Author: admin
Switchfoot – The Beautiful Letdown
BEST FOURTH RELEASE 2005 Award Co-Winner! 
CO-WINNER: Relient K (Mmhmm).
Runners-Up: dcTalk (Jesus Freak), Audio Adrenaline (Some Kind Of Zombie),
Disciple (By God), John Reuben (The Boy vs. The Cynic).
Best Fourth Release ’05 was one of our toughest decisions, and in the end we had to make a tie, because both Relient K and Switchfoot deserved this Award.
This album is what really made Switchfoot a household name [and it’s still their defining record to this day]. It has a nice coherent feel to it, and because of the added bandmember (bringing it to four), their sound is also much more full than their previous releases.
Kicking off The Beautiful Letdown, fan and radio favorite “Meant To Live” is a medium-paced rocker that showcases this new fullness very well.
“This Is Your Life” is uplifting and encouraging, yet also thought-provoking. Musically, it’s a slow ballad that opens with some neat programming.
“More Than Fine” is medium-paced and more Pop-y during the chorus; yet it does pick up a little towards the end. Lyrically, it’s about wanting more than mediocrity.
Fan favorite “Ammunition” is the most rocking track on the disc. It begins with a cool, building intro, it’s fast-paced, it has heavy guitars, and it even features a quick, great-sounding scream for emphasis both after the second verse and near the end. This is easily one of this album’s best tracks (and it’s also one of Switchfoot’s all-time best).
“Dare You To Move (Version 2)” is another fan favorite. Again, it has a much richer sound than the version on their previous CD.
“Redemption” is softer and slightly older-styled.
“Gone” is yet another fan fave. It’s a bouncy tune with lyrics that turn cute towards the end; its main thrust is about how temporary everything is.
“On Fire” has downright awesome lyrics, and musically it’s an excellent, slow, piano- and acoustic guitar-driven ballad. It’s quite beautiful, and one of Switchfoot’s all-time best.
“Adding To The Noise” is a funny yet very true and apt criticism of today’s culture. It’s the last of the disc’s rockers.
And “Twenty-Four” is the final track, one last ballad. It uses the number 24 about as many times as possible during the lyrics (at least at first 
); however, the chorus and bridges are very pretty, and the lyrics become more and more creative and honest as the song unfolds.
In short, this is an excellent album, and worthy of Co-Best Fourth Release.
Our rating for The Beautiful Letdown: 5 & 1/3 Stars. 
Switchfoot – Learning To Breathe
Learning To Breathe begins with the original version of “Dare You To Move”. Its lyrics encourage you to move beyond your past (and whatever happened there) to step into your future.
The lyrics of early fan favorite (and title track) “Learning To Breathe” basically focus on learning how to live life. It’s a good mid-paced ballad that is very rhythmic and fairly pretty.
“You Already Take Me There”, another one of the earlier Switchfoot fan faves, picks up the pace as it’s a fairly solid rocker.
While at first softer again, the music of “Love Is The Movement” properly picks up into rock during the chorus; and it’s very intriguing and all-around great.
“Poparazzi” rebukes those who desire fame purely for fame’s sake, without moral limits, not caring about what their words and actions are doing to their followers. While the vocals could be better during the chorus, it’s otherwise fine; and it’s a fair rocker, anyway.
“Innocence Again” is another song that has great, intriguing music.
“Playing For Keeps” asks when to let go and move on.
“The Loser” states that eventually, the losers do win. Musically, it’s slower-paced but definitely rocking— it’s one of the best songs on the album.
“The Economy Of Mercy” is a plain ballad, and “Erosion” is a more upbeat one; neither are really noteworthy otherwise.
“Living Is Simple”, however, makes up for those previous two by closing off the CD with a good rocker that aptly describes life.
Our rating for Learning To Breathe: 3 & 3/4 Stars. 
Switchfoot – New Way To Be Human
Switchfoot’s second album New Way To Be Human begins with its classic (and old fan favorite) title track, which is rhythmic and has very good guitars in the chorus.
“Incomplete” is another rhythmic song. It contains some interesting musical elements.
“Sooner Or Later (Soren’s Song)” is slower-paced until the last verse, where the guitars kick in and then fade back down.
The lyrics of “Company Car” describe someone who gained all that they thought they had ever wanted but had no joy. Again, it has very good guitars in the chorus.
“Let That Be Enough” is the softest and slowest song of the album, with fairly bare music.
“Something More (Augustine’s Confession)” brings back the rock with another old fan fave. And again, the bridges and chorus have good guitars.
“Only Hope” is a softer song, although it’s a lot more full-sounding because of the extra orchestration behind it.
“Amy’s Song” is another rhythmic track (this time medium-paced); lyrically, it’s apparently a tribute to someone.
“I Turn Everything Over” picks up the pace a little more.
And the final track “Under The Floor” begins slower, and has muted vocals throughout its length. It also has some good melody combinations. Near the song’s end the guitars pick up a little, and then everything fades off.
There’s also a short Hidden Track afterwards— a clip of them singing in Acappella-style (although there actually is music underneath).
In all, New Way To Be Human is a good record.
Our rating for New Way To Be Human: 4 & 3/4 Stars. 
Switchfoot – The Legend Of Chin
The Legend Of Chin (its title referring to the band’s former moniker ‘Chin Up’) is Switchfoot’s interestingly somewhat-indie, somewhat-not first release.
It starts off with the definitely-indie track “Bomb”, which contains almost random music in some places, and some rather strange lyrics, too.
Thankfully, the next track “Chem 6A” is quite a bit different (and better), with good rock fills and almost cutely satirical lyrics.
“Underwater” again has a more indie feel musically; lyrically, it describes someone who feels alone.
“The Edge Of My Seat” describes a relationship.
“Home” is a medium-paced track featuring acoustic guitars that is not indie, and actually surprisingly good.
“Might Have Ben Hur” is, musically, a good indie track with Rock fills.
“Concrete Girl” gently encourages those who feel like everything is against them to hold on and stay strong.
“Life And Love And Why” is a good indie Rock track that lyrically explains its title.
“You” is another non-indie, rhythmic, acoustic-driven track that is quite good. (In fact, it’s probably the best track on this CD.)
“Ode To Chin” is an indie Rock song that points out some life truths.
Finally, “Don’t Be There” is one more acoustic-driven track, this time with lyrics that are introspective, slightly metaphorical, and quite difficult to decipher.
In all, it’s a fairly good indie release; and a glimpse at Switchfoot’s young and early days.
Our rating for The Legend Of Chin: 3 & 3/4 Stars.
Switchfoot – Live Show “Let us sing one true tune…”
A Best Live Show Nominee in the 2007 Awards
(Photo Credits: Ember)
Live Show Rating: 5 & 1/4 Stars. 
Superchick – Rock What You Got
BEST FOURTH RELEASE 2008 Award Co-Winner! 
CO-WINNER: Underoath (Lost In The Sound Of Separation).
Runners-Up: NONE.
Superchick’s fourth studio release showcases the best vocals and the most rocking music that they have ever recorded— without question, this is their best album to date.
Rock What You Got opens with its title track, featuring excellent, jazzy rhythmic rock. Its lyrics encourage you to be who you are and not let the world discourage you.
“Alive Prelude” is a 36-second segue consisting of a little audio from some cheesy old-school ‘horror’ movie (like Frankenstein or something).
“Alive” then kicks in with great Hard-Edged Rock and equally great lyrics.
“Hey Hey” takes the music a step further— for the first time in Superchick history, this track features rhythmic Hard Rock! It’s appealingly heavy, very catchy, and excellent.
“Hold” has an excellent, classy piano intro, followed by quick steps up to rock; and it also contains solid, strong vocals.
“Breathe” musically begins with soft piano, then builds slowly. The vocals are beautiful, with an unusual rhythm of word delivery that makes you listen; and the lyrics implore you to hold on to life, even through despair. (The chorus gave us goosebumps.)
“So Beautiful”, kicking the music up to Electronic Rock, is the disc’s specifically female-focused track, assuring girls that every one of them is beautiful just as they are and that they were never meant to try to copy the fake ‘beauty’ seen and idolized in the media.
Energetic rock track “Cross The Line” points out the crowd-following pressure of our culture, then declares freedom from it.
“One More” contrasts low rock in the verses with energetic rock in the chorus. It firmly encourages you to never give up or give in, by focusing on just one step at a time.
“Crawl (Carry Me Through)” is emotional and slower-paced, featuring piano, orchestration, drums, and a little guitar. It’s another beautiful track.
“Stand In The Rain (Symphonic Mix)” is a somewhat toned-down remix of the originally quite rocking “Stand In The Rain” from Beauty From Pain 1.1.
Finally, “Dave Ghazarian: Guitar Hero”— as you might guess from the title— is a great track featuring bandmember Dave G. showing off on guitar (with a drum accompaniment).
In all, this is an excellent album, and worthy of Best Fourth Release.
Our rating for Rock What You Got: 5 & 1/3 Stars.
Superchick – Live Show “That’s freedom you hear…”
A Best Live Show Nominee in the 2010-2011 Awards
(Photo Credits: Ember)
Live Show Rating: 5 & 1/4 Stars.
Spoken – Spoken
A Best Sixth Release Honorable Mention in the 2007 Awards
Spoken’s self-titled sixth release has, quite noticeably, much heavier vocals overall (and even a bit heavier music) than their previous release. And the amazingly hard-hitting opening track “History Erased”— kicking in with pounding, high-screamed lyrics and music to match— immediately evidences this fact.
Next, the full-on rocking love song “Close Your Eyes” begins with screamed lyrics, dips into frontman Matt Baird’s signature high singing, then continues on with a great mix of both.
“Not Soon Forgotten”, another heavy rocker, has almost entirely rough or screamed vocals (which are sometimes very high). The end of this track fades into the next without a pause.
“Trading In This Troubled Heart” is the first track on this disc to exhibit a vocal style similar to their previous album’s. There’s an interesting, memorable quality to the melodies in the chorus and final bridge; and the lyrics contain a theme of hope through darkness.
“You’re The One” is another love song. In contrast to the first one, however, this track is a ballad; and it’s very different from anything else they’ve done so far. Musically, a muted background piano is the lead for the majority of the song, picking up into a guitar lead for the track’s finale.
“Brought To Life”, as you might expect, bounces the energy level right back up. Its chorus is mostly sung while the verses are mostly screamed, and the vocals fly spectacularly high at times (even for Matt). Musically it’s another great rocker, rhythmic and quite heavy.
“Long Live The Dream” is another great track. It continues the musical heaviness, with mixed vocals (which, of course, occasionally go quite high ). Lyrically, this track encourages you to never, ever give up.
For the first two minutes or so, “Start The Revolution” is mostly an instrumental, with a rather suspenseful feel; however, that morphs into a more courageous, resolute feel as the song builds. At the points where there are real vocals, they sing only one lyric line, and mix it in and around the great rock instrumental work. It’s just plain cool.
“The Meaning Of…” is lyrically a love song to family, and it’s a quite good rocker, musically and vocally blending this album’s style with their previous’.
“When Hope Is All You Have” is again somewhat similar to their previous album’s style (though with a bit more vocal height), and it encourages you to hold on to hope. The end of this song fades into the next.
Finally, end track “The Answer” contains some interesting guitar/drum rhythms and this disc’s typical vocal mix; becoming fairly powerful towards the end, it closes out the album very well.
Our rating for Spoken: 5 & 1/4 Stars.
Spoken – Last Chance To Breathe
BEST FIFTH RELEASE 2005 Award Winner! 
Runners-Up: Switchfoot (Nothing Is Sound), Poor Old Lu (The Waiting Room),
Disciple (Back Again).
Honorable Mention: dcTalk (Supernatural).
Spoken’s Last Chance To Breathe, like many bands’ year-2005 releases, literally perfects their sound— now Rock/Hardcore, they’ve found their style, and it’s a good one. Last Chance… is definitely their best release so far; the disc’s music is very coherent, and all-around excellent.
“September” kicks off the disc with great rock and semi-autobiographical lyrics. This track also gives you hints of the vocal heights to come.
The next track, “Wind In My Sails”, keeps up the pace with another rocker that easily showcases frontman Matt Baird’s incredible range. In fact, as he moves into his signature high-flying screams near the end of the song, at certain points he’s close to going as high as we’ve ever heard him go. Not only that, the pure energy of this song hooks you. Great stuff.
They next move into a beautiful, medium-paced ballad with “Love In Return”, one of our all-time favorite Spoken tracks and one of the best songs on this disc.
“Everything Is Burning” moves back to energy-filled rock.
“1992” starts off with excellent heavy guitars and an interesting musical contrast— fast drumming, but slow singing. And then, in the chorus, Matt uses his voice in combination with the guitars to amazing, appealing effect. At the end of the song, a double sing-in-the-foreground / scream-in-the-background vocal is used until the track fades away.
Title track “Last Chance To Breathe” is a medium-paced rock song that is almost completely sung, except for the very last sentence. Afterwards, a very short instrumental piece (using a guitar line almost identical to the one in “Learning To Forget” from their previous album) acts as an interest/suspense-building intro to “Bitter Taste”.
“Bitter Taste” (featuring Cory Putman of Norma Jean) is definitely the heaviest track of the album, and they rip into it without hesitation. Matt constantly alternates incredible, shockingly-high-screamed lyrics with sung ones, guest Cory Putman’s occasional low-screamed lyrics acting as a counterpoint. A minute into the song the whole thing intriguingly slows down for a sentence (drawing the lyrics out in a really cool way), and then picks back up. What’s also amazing about this song is its appeal— despite the screaming, it’s actually musical… and yes, even catchy!
Providing a breather after the intensity of the previous song, “From The Inside” is another beautiful ballad that sees a change in octaves a ways through.
“Home” is another good medium-paced rock song. Lyrically, it seems to be (at least partially) a tribute to someone who passed away.
“4th Street” picks up the pace some more, and contains longing lyrics.
Spoken next includes their excellent cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”.
And finally “You’re Still Waiting” closes off the album with one more fast rocker, giving you the last taste of Matt’s unique high vocals (and the few parting screamed lyrics) of this CD.
In all, Spoken’s fifth release is an excellent album, and definitely worthy of Best Fifth Release.
Our rating for Last Chance To Breathe: 5 & 1/2 Stars. 