San Diego-based Switchfoot has announced the first leg of their North American tour. The 35-date trek will make stops in the US and Canada in support of their new album, Oh, Gravity.
In what has to be one of the most inane release strategies in history, Sony BMG thought it might be a good idea to release the album on December 26, the day after Christmas. Are they trying to kill the band's career? The manner in which Sony has handled the follow-ups to the band's breakthrough The Beautiful Letdown would have me wondering if I were frontman Jon Foreman.
Last year's Nothing is Sound was one of a handful of releases Sony encoded with a copy protection format that made customers' computers vulnerable to hackers. The album failed to capitalize on the success of Letdown, and the band decided rather than trying to beat the dead horse they would try again.
That was bad, and wow this! Releasing an album the day after Christmas? The album was originally slated for November, but was delayed for unspecified reasons.
Can anyone give me one good reason for a December 26th release date? Either release the album before Christmas and take advantage of the busiest shopping season of the year or release it early in the new year when someone might be paying attention. No one went to a music store the day after Christmas to buy something. They all went to the store to return something. Sure, I suppose you could argue that a customer making a return might take an interest. Still, more people were in stores buying the day before Christmas. This just seems stupid on so many levels.
As to the album itself, I have a copy of it but have not had the opportunity to listen to it closely. Fans and music enthusiasts might be interested to know famed producer Steve Lilywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band, Guster) served as executive producer for the record, assisted by the band and veteran producer Tim Palmer.
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