On the band’s newest album — and at its upcoming show at The Arlington Theatre on April 6 — San Diego’s Switchfoot speaks a musical language of love. Native Tongue, released in January of this year, sees the chart-topping, Grammy Award–winning alt-rock band rallying around a hopeful message in troubled times. I spoke with guitarist Drew Shirley about the new album, taking musical risks, and making sacrifices in love.
Tell me about the title of the new album, Native Tongue. The title track is about our original language, and our original language is love. So much of the world you see today, the language is hate, division, greed, and fake news. Our original language is love, and we want to be a band that spread that message and sings anthems for hope and love. Native Tongue is a chant, a war cry to return to our native tongue of love.
Are there ways in which the album’s themes resonated personally with you? Yeah, definitely. My wife went through a major medical trauma last year — she had a brain aneurysm, and it was very life or death. …When you have a medical condition that big … your life just stops. Nothing else really matters other than: How are we going to live from here on out, and what’s really most important?
