Starting with Stars, it seems as though this disc will be a pretty big success. The lead single offers a typically Switchfoot sound with a bit of an edge, much like Meant To Live. It offers simple yet clever verses. The one issue with this song is the lack of a solid chorus. The chorus says a little bit, but it leaves out a lot and kind of becomes a letdown.
The one good thing about this is the fact that the lack of a solid chorus makes Stars one of the worst on the disc. Tracks like Lonely Nation, We Are One Tonight and Happy Is A Yuppie Word offer a great sound with lyrics to go along with it. Frontman Jon Foreman's vocals are solid on all three songs. We Are One Tonight is probably the most typically Switchfoot song sound-wise. Lonely Nation offers listeners and edgier rock sound that hasn't been heard on most of Switchfoot's previous stuff. And Happy Is A Yuppie Word offers a pretty unique track to the Switchfoot collection, and certainly one of the better ones.
One of things that made The Beautiful Letdown a bit of...well, a letdown...was the lack of any solid tracks in the very middle of the disc. Tracks 4-10 on the disc were half and half...some quality tracks sprinkled in with some tracks that were lacking in more than just a few areas. The same cannot be said about Nothing Is Sound. Aside from The Shadow Proves The Sunshine, easily the worst track on the disc, each track on the latest disc is crafted well. The Fatal Wound, Easier Than Love and Golden all offer listeners some very familiar track stylistically. And, in these cases, that familiarity works pretty well.
This disc is chock full of great tracks. Politicians is a solid track music that offers some great lyrics to back it. The Blues and Daisy, two of the slowest tracks on the disc, offer great looks into the deeper side of Switchfoot, offering the two best lyrical tracks on the disc (And two tracks that rank right up there with some of the best Switchfoot tracks lyrically). These tracks are definitely three of the favorites on this disc, and Politicians is one that could end up doing quite well if released to radio.
Overall, Nothing Is Sound is a solid improvement on The Beautiful Letdown. The men of Switchfoot managed to keep their surfer-rock sound while adding some unique touches to it throughout the disc. Because of this, it looks as though this disc will be even more successful than it's predecessor. And, if musical quality has any bearing on the sales of this disc, it should definitely outsell all Switchfoot discs to date (And likely close in on the top sellers in CCM's history).