Vice Verses

Vice Verses is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on September 27, 2011. "Dark Horses" was the first single released from the album, with a July 20 radio date and August 2 digital release. Vice Verses debuted on the US Billboard 200 at No. 8.

History

The song "Vice Verses" was first performed by Foreman during one of the singer's solo acoustic shows on April 12, 2009. Foreman iterated to the audience that the song was not slated for release on the upcoming Switchfoot record at the time called Hello Hurricane, but would appear on the one after.

Later that month, Switchfoot announced that in addition to Hello Hurricane, the album that was to follow already had a title as well: Vice Verses. This came on the heels of a Twitter post in which the band said they had recorded four albums worth of material during the Hurricane sessions and intended to release the records one by one.^[2][3] This plan was short-lived however, with Foreman later stating that the band has "already replaced a lot the songs on Vice Verses with new songs" and that Vice Verses is a departure from Hello Hurricane. In October, Foreman said that most of the songs were ready to go and "if the next record came out today, it would be called Vice Verses."^[4] In December, bassist Tim Foreman was quoted saying that the album was close to done and that he thought it was going to be even better than Hello Hurricane.

Nothing more was heard regarding the project, however, until July of the next year, when Jon and guitarist Drew Shirley said the band was aiming to complete Vice Verses by the Summer of 2011.^[5] After the conclusion of the Hello Hurricane tour, the band members each took personal time off but very quickly resumed work on Vice Verses. On November 21, Shirley tweeted that the band were "tracking new songs in the studio tonight. You'll see..." while the next day, Foreman simply tweeted "making vice verses."

In January 2011, the band began official recording for the project, announcing via email that they had enlisted Neal Avron and Mike Elizondo as producers for the album. Adam Hawkins, an engineer during the Hurricane sessions, was also brought on board to work on Vice Verses. During the Hello Hurricane tour, Switchfoot began debuting new songs that were possible inclusions on Vice Verses. In the summer months, the band played a song titled "Against the Voices", which Foreman stated in would be "from the next record." On August 8, Switchfoot debuted a song titled "Dark Horses" at a show in Chicago. At a subsequent performance, Foreman stated that he liked the track and it was "probably going to make the cut, I hope, because I like it."

Foreman also played various other songs at his acoustic after shows throughout the tour, including "Thrive" and "She Says (The Black Eyed Blues)", both possibilities for release on Vice Verses.

On several occasions, the band stated that they were pushing for Vice Verses to be a double album,^[6][7] though they eventually scaled the project back down to a single disc collection.

On January 31, the band tweeted that bassist Tim Foreman was laying down bass tracks on a song titled "Selling the News". In February, a tentative track listing was posted on the web. The first track to be mixed off the record was called "Blinding Light".

On April 6, the band tweeted that they were "going into the studio one last time to put the finishing touches" on Vice Verses, with final mixes to come later that week.^[8] On the 9th, Foreman debuted the song "Restless", a track that is slated for release on the record, during a live performance. Final mixing was completed on April 13, with band photographer Andy Barron tweeting that he was "watching the band sit in a dark room in hollywood listening to #viceverses front to back."^[9]

During a two-week stint in Canada, the band debuted "Restless" live, performing it for the first time in its full-band arrangement on May 18 at the London Convention Centre. They played "The Original" for the first time in Kingston on the 20th, and a re-worked version of "Dark Horses" on May 23 in Winnipeg, MB. Two more songs, "Afterlife" and "The War Inside" saw play during the tour as well.

The band previewed their material throughout the summer months leading up to the album's release, offering fans a chance to hear the lead single, "Dark Horses" at their Bro-Am event.^[10] The band also previewed some tracks during a tent event at the Alive Festival on July 1.^[11]

The band premiered 11 of the 12 tracks on September 17 through ESPN Music commencing with the match between Oklahoma and Florida St. ^[12]

Musical and lyrical content

The thematic core of the feeling of the record rests in the idea of the polarity of life rooted in the lyric "every blessing comes with a set of curses," found on the title track. The band claims that the songs on the album will be driven heavily by drums and bass. Unlike the Hello Hurricane sessions, in which the band tracked over 80 songs, the Vice Verses session saw the band taking on a more selective process. Instead of writing multiple songs and picking from amongst them the best for the album, they wrote just enough songs for one album and focused them so as to perfect each one.

The music is rooted heavily in the rhythm section, consisting of Butler's drum work and Tim Foreman's bass work. The band set out to make a record that was very much by the “bass and drums, the rhythm section."^[13]

The decision to work with Avron was influenced by recommendations from other bands who have worked with him in the past. "Sean O’Donnell from Reeve Oliver, who’s now in Yellowcard, [and] Jordan [Pundik] from New Found Glory [have talked up Avron],” explains Jon Foreman. “They’re both just like, ‘You gotta meet him, and you’re going to work with him.’ I’m really glad it worked out for both of our schedules to make a record together, it’s been so much fun. I feel like everyone’s pushed each other in a really good way.”^[13]

One of the tracks, "Selling the News", consists of verses featuring Foreman speaking the lyrics and demonstrating "a poetry slam Beck-meets-Beastie Boys style examination of a media-mad nation."^[14]

Reception

Track listing

A tentative tracklisting was posted to Twitter by the band, but was subject to refining and changes. The final track listing was announced on June 14, 2011.^[14]

All lyrics written by Jon Foreman, all music composed by Jon Foreman and Tim Foreman, except where noted.

Chart positions

Personnel

• Neal Avron - producer
• Mike Elizondo – executive producer
• Adam Hawkins – engineer, mixing

References

• Switchfoot Vice Verses - Album tracks lyrics