Nothing Is Sound

Limited edition double 180gm colored vinyl LP pressing. Multi-platinum San Diego-based rock band Switchfoot's fifth studio album, 2005's Nothing Is Sound arrived two years after the release of their major label debut, the double-platinum The Beautiful Letdown, which yielded two Top 5 hit singles: "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move." Touring nonstop, Switchfoot had no choice but to write and record the bulk of the album on the road. While this on-the-fly approach was predicated on necessity, it did have one major benefit - enabling the band to road-test new songs in front of a highly vocal crowd immediately after it was finished. "This record was written in back alleys and hotel rooms far from home," explained frontman and primary songwriter Jon Foreman, explaining the difference between Nothing Is Sound and it's predecessor. "It's more eclectic, less settled, with more dissonance. We've tried to capture the emotional ride that happens on stage and put it into the studio. Playing that hard every night really stretches you, and all these diverse experiences have played a key role in shaping this record." The band wound up recording parts of the album in unfamiliar locales as far away as South Africa, and other parts as close to home as one can get - Foreman's San Diego bedroom. John Fields, who produced The Beautiful Letdown, oversaw the sessions and put them all together for Nothing Is Sound. "If you can combine the more-professional-sounding elements with the honesty of doing it yourself, those are the best records," Foreman asserts. "They're honest and pure but listenable."