Now he's back, with the concluding two EPs of the four-part project. Spring/Summer carries on the simple approach, but adds in a little more seasonal growth and life. It also includes a couple of beautiful duets with Sarah Masen, Molly Jenson and Emily Foreman. And just like before, the results are immediate and intensely good.
Arrangements take on an international flavour at times - mariachi horns on A Mirror Is Harder To Hold, Japanese koto on Again, Oktoberfest rumpus on March (a prelude to Spring) - all reflecting the new life that makes Spring/Summer the times they are.
As ever the lyrics draw the listener in with personal revelation, alarming honesty and more than a handful of beautifully turned phrases. Like the music of indie-wunderkind Sufjan Stevens, there's a home-brew quality about it all that weds beautifully to the optimism and hope.
Baptize My Mind lines up particularly nicely with Stevens' Come On Feel The Illinoise! - and if you're an indie fan, the links don't come much better.
There will be a new Switchfoot release next year and their current track 'This Is Home' is gracing our cinemas this summer in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian theatrical release and Walt Disney Records soundtrack. The new Switchfoot album will, ahem, rock. But there will be no discord between it and these four EPs. In fact, you can be sure that the platinum band's next release will be all the richer for their songwriter's experimentation.
