California-based band Switchfoot released Fading West, their newest of nine albums Jan. 14. The much anticipated album features alternative, rock, pop and post-grunge music styles. The band based the album off of their love for surfing.

The album has 11 tracks and contains a wide array of music styles. The first track on the album is “Love Alone Is Worth the Fight.” The song has a very new-age feel that is very different from the rock based album, Vice Verses (2011). By track four, Switchfoot goes back to their grungy-rock roots and shakes up the album from the previous three slower songs. Track four, “Say it Like You Mean it” reminds me a lot of “The Original,” a song featured in Vice Verses. Both songs contain a strong baseline as well as a lot of distortion, which you wouldn’t expect to find with many grunge bands.

By track eight, Switchfoot kicks it back to 2006 with the dance-rock style of “Oh! Gravity” (2006). Track eight is entitled “Let It Out” and is by far one of my favorite tracks on Fading West. The song encourages listeners to “take it easy right now” and to “breathe it in and let it out.” Switchfoot adds their encouraging message and mood to this fantastic track using signature surfing style.

The album ends with the song “Back to the Beginning Again,” a track featuring the hidden Christian values that Switchfoot loves to throw into their music. The song has a nice, uplifting feel that can get you through the day.

Overall, I think this album is excellent. I love Switchfoot’s new sounds and the surfer vibes that come along with it. The band will be in Colorado on April 23 at the Gothic Theater for their Fading West Tour.