Switchfoot - "New Way to Be Human"
Year: 1999
Label: Re: Think
Favorite songs: New Way to Be Human, Something More, Let That Be Enough, Incomplete, Sooner or Later, Company Car
Lyric sample: "I'm the king of things I've always despised / I'm the gingerbread man who got eaten alive / I'm half baked / I'm fake / But hey, I've got hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk / And two hundred bucks / I pass Go, but oh, life's taken its toll / Have I won Monopoly to forfeit my soul?"
It's the red one with the fingerprint. After hearing Switchfoot's breakout single Chem 6A on a sampler, I was interested enough to invest in the trio's sophomore effort, New Way to Be Human. In 1999, I was still just getting into alternative rock, and I didn't know what to make of Switchfoot. They could bright and poppy, and at the same time heavy and grungy. Their genre oddities surprised me, and at first that was off-putting. Of course, the more I listened, the strangeness became endearing. It was a refreshing break from the utterly predictable adult contemporary that I had listened to most of my life. If you're thinking that what I just said doesn't describe Switchfoot, either the only thing you've heard the radio remix of "Dare You To Move" or you haven't been paying enough attention. In actuality, the best quality of their latest Oh, Gravity is that in some ways it returns to the form of this record, throwing unexpected dynamic or rhythm changes into songs, contrasting styles, etc. It's not experimental music, but it is not static either. Oh, and it has horns. Who expected horns on an alt rock record, one that isn't remotely ska? Not me.
Take "Sooner or Later" for instance. It's a quiet, almost plodding song with strings and a strange processed trumpet sound in the background that explodes suddenly in the bridge with distorted guitars and a satisfying melodic switch. For 45 seconds or so, it's a rock song. Then, we're back where we were before like nothing much had happened. Just ripples in the pond remind us of the upset. Then there's "Incomplete," an energetic rocker that harkens back to "Chem 6A" by using a repetitive guitar riff as the basis for most of the song. A lot of Switchfoot favorites hail from this release like "Something More (Augustine's Confession)" and the now-popular "Only Hope." "Only Hope" became a hit after it was featured in the movie A Walk to Remember. Had this not happened, I predict that Switchfoot would never have played the song again. It simply is not a standout in any way. If I were to pick a ballad from this record, it would most certainly be "Let That Be Enough." This song's grassroots humility and simple guitar melody, combined with Jon's personal lyrics, make it one of the band's enduring soft tracks.
The best moment, however, is the title track and opener "New Way to Be Human." To this day, it easily remains one of Switchfoot's greatest songs. It's heavy, catchy, and lyrically smart. In some ways it represents the height of what their early years had to offer. The single guitar note and drum loop at the beginning stops and we hear three small bell chimes. We know we're in for something special. The drums resume, joined by a twangy, out of focus guitar and some voices whistling. It's odd - but oddly likeable. Full chords ring out as the pre-chorus slows, letting us float for a moment in empty space - then like a lurching car the song accelerates into the chorus, dominated by the syncopated bursts of overdriven guitar and Jon Foreman's stratospheric melody.
It's a little overplayed to me now, because I've listened so many times. Yet that doesn't keep me from remembering the goodness that is New Way to Be Human as a breakthrough album from my favorite band filled with fantastic songs.
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