Vice Verses
Encyclopedia
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.
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. 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." 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. 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, 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. 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."
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. The band also previewed some tracks during a tent event at the Alive Festival on July 1.
The band premiered 11 of the 12 tracks on September 17 through ESPN
Music commencing with the match between Oklahoma and Florida St.
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."
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.”
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."
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
. It was released on September 27, 2011. "Dark Horses
Dark Horses
"Dark Horses" is a song written and recorded by the alternative rock band Switchfoot, and serves as the first single off their eighth studio album entitled Vice Verses. It was debuted on the band's on July 20, 2011 and serviced to radio the same day...
" 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
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
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
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
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. 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." 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
Drew Shirley
Andrew Philip Shirley is a guitarist and the newest member of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. Shirley attended California Baptist University studying a Fine Arts degree with a Music minor. During that time he also started and led various school bands and shows. He had only started playing...
said the band was aiming to complete Vice Verses by the Summer of 2011. After the conclusion of the Hello Hurricane tour
Hello Hurricane tour
The Hello Hurricane Tour is a 2009-2010 concert tour by the alternative rock band Switchfoot in support of their seventh studio album, Hello Hurricane. The tour began in San Diego, CA on November 8, 2009 and concluded in Avila Beach, CA on October 29, 2010. Dates were first announced on...
, 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
Mike Elizondo
Michael "Mike" Elizondo is a well-known songwriter, bassist, keyboardist, and hip hop music producer.-Musical career:Mike Elizondo is especially known for his collaborations with internationally successful producer Dr. Dre and rapper Eminem. He has played the bass for many of Dr...
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
Hello Hurricane tour
The Hello Hurricane Tour is a 2009-2010 concert tour by the alternative rock band Switchfoot in support of their seventh studio album, Hello Hurricane. The tour began in San Diego, CA on November 8, 2009 and concluded in Avila Beach, CA on October 29, 2010. Dates were first announced on...
, 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, 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. 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
Andy Barron
Andy Barron is a photographer best known for his work with the band Switchfoot, with whom he has worked since 2002 and now tours regularly with. He currently is in charge of video content and photography for the band, and is behind their periodic video podcasts and films, such as...
tweeting that he was "watching the band sit in a dark room in hollywood listening to #viceverses front to back."
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. The band also previewed some tracks during a tent event at the Alive Festival on July 1.
The band premiered 11 of the 12 tracks on September 17 through ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
Music commencing with the match between Oklahoma and Florida St.
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."
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
Yellowcard
Yellowcard is an American pop punk/alternative rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2000. Their music features the use of a violin, unusual for the genre...
, [and] Jordan [Pundik] from New Found Glory
New Found Glory
New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
[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.”
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."
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.Chart positions
| Chart (2011) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 35 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
8 |
| Billboard Christian Albums | 1 |
| Billboard Rock Albums | 3 |
| Billboard Alternative Albums | 3 |
| Billboard Digital Albums | 5 |
Personnel
- Neal AvronNeal AvronNeal Avron is an American musician, record producer, mixer, and audio engineer. Working predominately in rock music, Avron began working on records in 1993 and achieved his production breakthrough when he co-produced Everclear's 1997 album So Much For The Afterglow...
- producer - Mike Elizondo – executive producer
- Adam Hawkins – engineer, mixing