Style and Influences
Since Switchfoot's first release in 1997, the band's sound has evolved significantly. The style of the early albums with independent label Re:think Records consisted primarily of guitar-driven alternative rock, characteristic of a three-man lineup, though they also incorporated string arrangements with slower songs.
Switchfoot's frontman and guitarist Jon Foreman cites his musical influences as U2, The Beatles, and Keith Green, and has said that he admires the vocal "strength and vulnerability" of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. Guitarist Drew Shirley cites U2, Miles Davis, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tommy Walker, Phil Keaggy, Michael Jackson, Dave Matthews Band, and the Brand New Heavies, while bassist Tim Foreman pays tribute to Stevie Wonder. Chad Butler also cites Dave Grohl as an influence for The Beautiful Letdown. "We've never fit in any of the genre boxes," says Jon Foreman. "I think that diversity is our strength".
With regard to their lyrics, Foreman notes "we try to make music for thinking people", which can be characterized by his allusions to the works of philosophers like Søren Kierkegaard and Augustine of Hippo in the songs "Sooner or Later (Soren's Song)" and "Something More (Augustine's Confession)" respectively. "Meant to Live", the band's runaway hit, was inspired by T. S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men", while "Stars", the lead single off Nothing Is Sound, briefly "looks at things from the Descartes perspective," according to Foreman.
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