My Top 25 Favorite Albums of the Decade – 24

The Beautiful Letdown by Switchfoot

Although The Beautiful Letdown was Switchfoot’s fourth full length album, it was my first exposure to the band.  Switchfoot’s brand of alternative rock didn’t reflect a lot of what I was listening to at the time, but the more I listened, the more The Beautiful Letdown grew on me.  This album is often criticized for being over produced.  However, I believe what was added in post production adds a depth to Switchfoot’s sound making them more than your run-of-the-mill rock band.

As good as the music is on The Beautiful Letdown what really stands out are the lyrics.  Even as a Christian I’ve never been a big fan of Christian music.  It often comes across as cliche and cheesy.  Switchfoot lyrics on the other hand feel real and applicable and not just for Christians, but for anyone.  On The Beautiful Letdown singer and lyricist Jon Foreman challenges the listener to take risks and to evaluate the things in this life that really matter.  Even to this day I’ll listen to this album and hear new things that impact me.  Recently listening to the title track I found the line “Easy living, come on and let me down,” to be particular profound and fitting to my life right now.  I think that’s a sign of a well written album, that it can be continually moving listen after listen.

Tomorrow is number 23!