“We’re still chasing our tails and the rising sun.
And our darkwater planet’s still spinning in a race
Where no one wins and no one’s won.”

To this day my parents still give me and my siblings gift baskets full of sundry goodies on Easter. Back in the day it was all sugar, but this past year I got beef jerky, local raw honey, all-natural peanut butter, and a gift card to a nearby farmer’s market. One year, though, 2003 to be exact, apparently on impulse or maybe on the recommendation of a fellow church mom, my mother put a CD in my basket. It was Switchfoot’s The Beautiful Letdown, and it more or less became the soundtrack of my life.

It also put Switchfoot on the map, selling millions of copies and gaining traction on the radio with their two biggest hits, ‘Dare You to Move’ and ‘Meant to Live’. Though the ensuing twenty years have seen the band gradually amass a devoted following as they’ve continued to make good-to-stellar music, they haven’t remained relevant in the mainstream. But even people who only vaguely recall the band’s name will perk up when they hear the opening riff of ‘Meant to Live’.

Once again a quartet after the departure of long-time guitarist Drew Shirley, Switchfoot has returned to the album that shaped their career trajectory, re-recording the The Beautiful Letdown in its entirety for its twentieth anniversary. They’ve titled it The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version), presumably because, like Taylor Swift, the band wants ownership of studio versions of their songs. Regardless of the motive, we as fans get a real treat, a rock-solid collection of songs that examine the spiritual tensions inherent to the human condition and the modern social ills that continue to plague our generation.

This is less a re-imagining than it is a faithful cover album made by a band that’s spent decades playing these songs in front of audiences that sing along with them. For those attuned to the original album’s infinitesimal details there are nuances to relish—a new backing vocal here, a slightly different lyric there, fresh guitar tones, a heavier emphasis on Jon Foreman’s vocals (which don’t sound quite the same as they did when he was a young man)—as well as a less meticulous approach to mixing that gives it the feel of an excellent live-in-studio recording rather than the slick wall-of-sound texture of the original.

It’s these wrinkles coupled with the surpassing familiarity with the songs that make this release so agreeable but so difficult to evaluate. You put it on in the car, you sing along at the top of your lungs. But it’s not the same old tune. I mean, it is, but it’s a little bit more alive now. Not necessarily better (although maybe in some cases), but not as pinned-down; intimately known and yet capable of delighting us anew.

In any case, it seems streaming The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version) will put more money in the band’s pocket, which is usually a good thing. I’ll hopefully give ‘em a bit more when their anniversary tour comes within driving range—it would be a treat to see the entire album played live.

Favorite Tracks: This Is Your Life (Our Version); On Fire (Our Version); Twenty-Four (Our Version).