Native Tongue (Switchfoot album)

Native Tongue is the eleventh studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on January 18, 2019, through Fantasy Records.[1][3][4] Native Tongue is the first Switchfoot album since 2000's Learning to Breathe to not crack the Top 20 in the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album reached No. 41 in its opening week. The album did, however, reach No. 2 on the Billboard Christian albums chart. At the 50th Dove Awards, the album won Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year.

Native Tongue
Studio album by Switchfoot
Released	January 18, 2019
Recorded	2018
Studio	Melody League Studios, San Diego[1]
Genre	Alternative rock, pop rock
Length	51:19
Label	Fantasy
Switchfoot chronology
Where the Light Shines Through (2016) Native Tongue (2019)
Singles from Native Tongue
"Native Tongue" Released: October 19, 2018 "Voices" Released: November 16, 2018 "All I Need" Released: December 14, 2018 "Let It Happen" Released: January 4, 2019 "The Strength to Let Go" Released: July 2019

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

Promotion

Singles

"Native Tongue" was released on October 19, 2018, as the album's first single, and was written by Jon Foreman, Tim Foreman, and Brent Kutzle of OneRepublic.[1] The video for the track premiered on Paste magazine's website the same day.[3]

"Voices" was released on November 16, 2018, as the second single and the music video was released on the same day.[5] Switchfoot promoted the album with a North American Native Tongue Tour, with supporting acts Colony House and Tyson Motsenbocker.[1]

"All I Need" was released on December 14, 2018, across all streaming platforms, followed by "Let it Happen" on January 4, 2019.

Accolades

Year	Organization	Award	Result	Ref.
2019	GMA Dove Awards	Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year	Won	[6]

Year-end lists

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
365 Days of Inspiring Media	Top 50 Albums of 2019	2	[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jon Foreman and Tim Foreman, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Let It Happen"	Jon Foreman	J. Foreman T. Foreman Tyler Chester	4:41
2.	"Native Tongue"	J. Foreman T. Foreman Brent Kutzle	J. Foreman T. Foreman Kutzle	4:38
3.	"All I Need"		J. Foreman T. Foreman	3:08
4.	"Voices"	J. Foreman T. Foreman Kutzle Ryan Tedder Tyler Spry	J. Foreman T. Foreman Kutzle Spry	2:58
5.	"Dig New Streams"		J. Foreman Tim Foreman	3:45
6.	"Joy Invincible"		J. Foreman T. Foreman	3:42
7.	"Prodigal Soul"		J. Foreman T. Foreman	3:51
8.	"The Hardest Art" (featuring Kaela Sinclair)		J. Foreman T. Foreman Kutzle Spry	4:13
9.	"Wonderful Feeling"		J. Foreman T. Foreman	4:06
10.	"Take My Fire"		J. Foreman T. Foreman	3:45
11.	"The Strength to Let Go"		J. Foreman T. Foreman	4:18
12.	"Oxygen"		J. Foreman T. Foreman	4:14
13.	"We're Gonna Be Alright"		J. Foreman T. Foreman Chester	2:55
14.	"You're the One I Want"	J. Foreman	J. Foreman T. Foreman	2:05
Total length:				51:19

Switchfoot.com bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
15.	"All I Need" (West Coast Edition)	3:23
16.	"Let's Go Higher"	4:59
17.	"Native Tongue" (Acoustic)	4:34

Walmart bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"White Lies"	J. Foreman	4:09
16.	"Don't Want Your Money"	J. Foreman, T. Foreman	3:10
17.	"All I Need" (Acoustic)	J. Foreman, T. Foreman	3:10

History

Native Tongue is Switchfoot's first studio album since Learning to Breathe (in 2000) not to crack the top 20 on the Billboard 200. It is also Switchfoot's first studio album since Hello Hurricane, in 2009, not to peak at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. It is Switchfoot's longest studio album by track listing, and the second-longest by duration, beaten only by Vice Verses.

Personnel

Switchfoot Jon Foreman – lead vocals, guitar Tim Foreman – bass guitar, background vocals, lead vocals (track 5) Chad Butler – drums, percussion Jerome Fontamillas – keyboards, guitar Drew Shirley – guitar Technical[8] The Foreman Brothers – producer Brent Kutzle – producer (tracks 2, 4, 8) Tyler Chester – producer (tracks 1, 14) Tanner Sparks – engineer, mixing (tracks 3, 5-14, bonus tracks) Tyler Spry – producer, engineer (tracks 2, 4, 8) Bear Rinehart – additional production (track 11) Adam Hawkins – mixing (track 1) Bryan Cook – mixing (track 8) John Nathaniel – mixing (tracks 2, 4) Joe Laporta – mastering Paul Blakemore – mastering (bonus tracks) Brandon Collins – string arrangement

Additional instrumentation[8] Kaela Sinclair – vocals (track 8) Tanner Sparks – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4) Tyler Chester – keyboards, acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 9, 13) Brent Kutzle – guitar, keyboards (tracks 2, 4, 8) Tyler Spry – background vocals, programming, keyboards, guitar (tracks 2, 4, 8) Bear Rinehart – keyboards (track 11) Steve Wilmot – programming (track 8) John Painter – marching drums, horns, strings (tracks 2, 5) David Davidson – violin (tracks 4, 7) David Angell – violin (tracks 4, 7) Monisa Angell – viola (track 7) Betsy Lamb – viola (track 4) Craig Nelson – contrabass (track 4) Paul Nelson – cello (tracks 4, 7) Keith Tutt II – cello (track 14)

Charts

Chart performance for Native Tongue

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[9]	20
US Billboard 200[10]	41
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[11]	2
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[12]	5
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[13]	4
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[14]	22

References

1. "Switchfoot Announces New Album Native Tongue and North American Tour". Fantasy Records. October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
2. allmusic
3. Kamp, Justin (October 19, 2018). "Exclusive: Switchfoot Return with "Native Tongue"". Paste. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
4. "Native Tongue". iTunes. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
5. ""Voices" Official Music Video Announcement". Facebook. November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
6. "2019 Winners | The 50th Annual GMA Dove Awards". GMA Dove Awards. October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
7. Andre, Jonathan (April 12, 2020). "BEST OF 2019- PART 11: TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2019 | 365 Days of Inspiring Media". 365 Days of Inspiring Media. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
8. Information from the album booklet.
9. "ARIA Top 50 Digital Albums Chart" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
10. "Switchfoot Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
11. "Switchfoot Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
12. "Switchfoot Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
13. "Switchfoot Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
14. "Switchfoot Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2020.