Hello Hurricane [CD/DVD]

Personnel: Keith Tutt II (cello).Audio Mixer: Adam Hawkins .Recording information: Phantom Studios, Westlake Village, CA; Spot X, San Diego, CA.Photographer: Andy Barron.By the time Switchfoot returned to autonomy with 2009's Hello Hurricane, the post-CCM quintet had learned so much from the rat race of their grueling Columbia years their new batch of songs appeared too effortless to be true. The multiplatinum glories of 2003's The Beautiful Letdown, while never replicated, taught the group to grow comfortable in its modern-rock skin -- to accept its status as a band for the people. That explains why Hello Hurricane is almost devoid of surprises and offers exactly what the people want: an assemblage of straight-ahead rock anthems, free from left-of-center experiments, bouncy power-pop numbers, or obligatory balladry. All of the above were at some point part of Switchfoot's line of attack, but here they fall by the wayside in exchange for no-nonsense anthems of purpose and faith. That t