Vice Verses from Switchfoot: Due 27 Sept 2011

A cool music preview from an unexpected source. Over at ESPN.com they are providing a free stream of Vice Verses from Switchfoot. The album drops 27 Sept., but you can listen to it now here! Here is the blurb from ESPN:

Switchfoot’s new album, “Vice Verses” (iTunes | Amazon), doesn’t come out until Sept. 27, but you can get an early preview of nearly all of it by listening to ESPN Music’s stream below.

The Grammy-winning, million-selling band formed in 1996 in San Diego, Calif., and has put out seven previous albums. Switchfoot consists of Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass), Jerome Earl Fontamillas (keyboards, guitar), Chad Butler (drums) and Drew Shirley (guitar).

Switchfoot’s 2004 song “Dare You To Move” peaked at No. 17 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songs chart, the album “Nothing Is Sound” reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2005 and “Hello Hurricane” hit No. 4 on the Rock Albums chart in 2009.

You can try to win a trip for two to the 2012 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., by entering the “Switchfoot Flyway Sweepstakes” here. Five of the songs from “Vice Verses” will also be used on ESPN’s college football coverage this season.

Switchfoot is currently on a U.S. tour, so you can check here to see when the band is playing near you.

Listen to every track from the album, except “Where I Belong,” below through Sept. 27.

Of course, the “below” refers to on their page. Check it out! I like what I’m hearing.

For those unfamiliar with the band, they are a group of Christian guys who sing about life from their perspective, like any other good artist. Their songs have been used on ESPN going to and returning from commercial during games and studio shows and during highlight packages like top plays. Their most famous song is clearly “Dare You To Move”, but they’ve had success in the mainstream market, as noted above. Their world-view is clear in their music, but they do not seem to use their music to overtly proselytize.