| Fiction Family | ||||
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| Released | January 20, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2006-2007 | |||
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| Length | 39:42 | |||
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| Fiction Family chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fiction Family | ||||
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Fiction Family is the debut studio album by the Fiction Family band collaboration between Switchfoot frontman and solo artist Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek guitarist and solo artist Sean Watkins. It was released January 20, 2009 through the indie record label, ATO Records. [4]
Foreman and Watkins began their collaboration in 2005, and eventually pieced together their first song called "Betrayal". The pair continued to write songs in the same manner because Nickel Creek and Switchfoot were both constantly on the road touring. "Whoever was home from tour would chip away at the songs with no real expectations at all," said Foreman. It was "mainly just for ourselves and for the love of the song I suppose." [5]
The tracking of the record was very organic, with little production involved besides some basic samples the two created from scratch. It was recorded completely in Foreman and Watkins' home studios, and with a few exceptions, "every note was written, arranged, played, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Sean and myself," Foreman said. [5]
"A lot of our sessions consisted of playing new songs that we'd written or songs that we'd learned and then saying, 'That's really good' or 'I don't really like that one' or 'I like the chorus on that one, but maybe we could write a new verse,'" said Watkins about the experience of writing with Foreman. [6]
Watkins and Foreman's writing methods were varied, but most of the time, Watkins would come up with a melody and Foreman would write the lyrics. "There’s a few songs where I just gave him the melody idea and he wrote all the words over it," said Watkins. "A couple times, there were some lyrical collaborations but it was more about what sounded better and less about content."
Regardless of contribution, the credits for the writing of all original songs were split between Foreman and Watkins evenly. Songwriting credits are listed neither in the liner notes nor on any website.
The album also contains a cover of "Throw It Away", written by singer Abbey Lincoln. [7] "On that one, he'd (Foreman) learned it and I hadn't heard the original one yet at all," said Watkins of their recording process for the song. "He played it and I thought it was great, just a good song with a great arrangement. We added a couple things to it and used it." [6]
The pair switched roles between the songwriter and the producer throughout the project. "The second song we did together, called 'Out of Order,' (Sean) pretty much wrote on his own and I provided more of the producer role," Foreman says. "When one of us was producing the song, it allowed the other to dive more into the artistic elements of the song." [8]
Eventually, the pair had pulled together enough songs for an EP, but enjoyed the project so much they decided to continue writing until they had a full record. They finished tracking in 2007, and rumors were swirling that Starbucks Coffee would be releasing the record on their label. [9] But that deal apparently fell through, and the album was shelved until ATO Records picked it up late in 2008. [10]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 50/100 [11] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Christianity Today |  [12] |
| Indie Vision Music | [3] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout | Josh Taylor: [13] Adam Dawson: [13] |
| Paste | 6.4/10 [14] |
| PopMatters |   [15] |
| Slant Magazine | [1] |
| USA Today | [16] |
The album has been well received amongst many review publications. Relevant called the project "wildly inventive and spontaneous... the work stands in victorious defiance against a crumbling conventional music industry." Jesus Freak Hideout praised the diversity of the record, saying "each song is meticulously crafted, and strikingly different from the eleven other songs on the record." [13] Silent Sound Waves likened Foreman's and Watkins' efforts to what "put The Beatles and The Eagles on the map."
The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 71, selling 7000 copies in the first week of its release. [17] It was well received at online retail sites, as well, reaching as high as No. 5 on iTunes' top overall albums on its first day of release.
Orders of the album from the band's online store Archived 2009-02-01 at the Wayback Machine come in three different options: Deluxe Edition, Vinyl, and CD.
The Deluxe Edition, which was limited to only 500 orders, comes with the album CD, as well as the following:
All tracks are written by Jon Foreman and Sean Watkins, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "When She's Near" | 2:55 | |
| 2. | "Out of Order" | Watkins | 3:31 |
| 3. | "Not Sure" | Watkins | 3:06 |
| 4. | "Betrayal" | 3:03 | |
| 5. | "Elements Combined" | Watkins | 3:38 |
| 6. | "War in My Blood" | Foreman | 2:57 |
| 7. | "Throw It Away" | Abbey Lincoln | 4:14 |
| 8. | "Closer Than You Think" | 3:12 | |
| 9. | "Please Don't Call It Love" | 5:11 | |
| 10. | "Mostly Prove Me Wrong" | Foreman | 3:02 |
| 11. | "We Ride" | Foreman | 3:18 |
| 12. | "Look for Me Baby" | Foreman | 1:35 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Friday I'm in Love" (The Cure cover) | 3:30 | |
| 14. | "Resurrect Me" | Foreman | 4:07 |
| 15. | "No Other Needs" | Watkins | 2:50 |
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 [19] | 71 |
| Billboard Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums | 20 |
| Billboard Comprehensive Albums | 73 |
| Billboard Top Rock Albums | 25 |
| Billboard Top Internet Albums [19] | 14 |
| Billboard Top Independent Albums [19] | 8 |
| Billboard Top Digital Albums | 14 |
| Billboard Top Christian Albums [19] | 3 |
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman, Tim Foreman, Chad Butler, and Jerome Fontamillas. Guitarist Drew Shirley was also a member of the band from 2005 to 2022. After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream recognition with the inclusion of four of their songs in the 2002 film A Walk to Remember. This recognition led to the release of their major label debut The Beautiful Letdown, which was released in 2003 and featured the hit singles "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move". Their fifth album, Nothing Is Sound peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, and included the single "Stars." Their seventh album, Hello Hurricane (2009) received a Grammy Award for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album. They have been noted for their energetic live shows.
Sean Charles Watkins is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is a member of the contemporary folk band Nickel Creek, the duo Fiction Family and the supergroup Works Progress Administration. He is the brother of Sara Watkins.
Jonathan Mark Foreman is an American musician who is the lead singer, guitarist, primary songwriter, and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He formed the band in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and his brother Tim Foreman on bass guitar. Keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas and guitarist Drew Shirley later joined the band. As a solo act, Foreman has released 14 extended plays and one studio album.
Nothing Is Sound is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on September 13, 2005 and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. The first single from the album was "Stars," which was the number one most-added song on Modern Rock Radio and received much airplay on alternative rock stations upon release. A second single, "We Are One Tonight," was released in early 2006, though it did not enjoy much success on the Billboard charts.
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during their third year in high school and time at Malone University. The band is named after guitarist Hoopes' automobile, a Plymouth Reliant K car, with the spelling intentionally altered to avoid trademark infringement over the Reliant name.
The Beautiful Letdown is the fourth studio album by alternative rock band Switchfoot, released on February 25, 2003, by RED Ink Records, and later re-released through Sony Music. It marked the band's first release on a major label and their first release with keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas. The album was produced by John Fields and Switchfoot and recorded over a span of around two weeks; all songs on the album were written either in part or entirely by lead singer Jon Foreman.
New Way to Be Human is the second studio album by the band Switchfoot. It was released on March 11, 1999, under independent label re:think Records, which was distributed by Sparrow Records. The song "Only Hope" was featured in the movie A Walk To Remember, and the tracks "New Way to Be Human", "Something More ", and "I Turn Everything Over" received substantial play on Christian radio. The song "Let That Be Enough" was featured in the Disney television movie Model Behavior and in the television series Dawson's Creek. "Sooner or Later" appeared on the soundtrack to Elektra.
The Legend of Chin is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on June 17, 1997 under independent label re:think Records, which was distributed by Sparrow Records.
"Dare You to Move" is a single by American alternative rock band Switchfoot from their fourth studio album, The Beautiful Letdown (2003). The song was originally called "I Dare You to Move", and was on the album Learning to Breathe, but the band decided to reimagine it and put it on The Beautiful Letdown. This track received considerable radio airplay, and its accompanying music videos saw play on MTV, VH1, FUSE TV, and other mainstream channels. "Dare You to Move" was released to Christian radio on February 6, 2004, and sent to modern rock radio the following month. It peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Switchfoot's second top-20 single, surpassing the success of their breakthrough single, "Meant to Live", in the United States.
Oh! Gravity. is the sixth album by the San Diego based alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on December 26, 2006. It was Switchfoot's last album released through Columbia Records and Sony BMG.
Fiction Family is a musical collaboration between Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins. The duo's self-titled, full-length album was released on January 20, 2009. The band has since added a drummer and a bassist, Tyler Chester and Aaron Redfield.
"This is Home" is a song written and recorded by American rock band Switchfoot for the soundtrack of the 2008 film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The song was featured during the end credits of the film. It was the 17th-most-played song on U.S. Contemporary Christian music radio stations for 2008 according to R&R magazine's Christian CHR chart.
Limbs and Branches is a compilation release from singer/songwriter Jon Foreman that was released October 28, 2008. It consists of a selection of songs from Foreman's previous solo EP releases, handpicked by Foreman and his fans, who were given a chance to vote for which songs to be included. Foreman also recorded two new songs for the release. "It's for all the folks that have a hard time understanding EP's and want things in a more universal format," explained Foreman.
The Best Yet is the first "greatest hits" album from alternative rock band Switchfoot, released on November 4, 2008.
"When She's Near" is the first single from the Jon Foreman/Sean Watkins collaboration Fiction Family's debut eponymous album. The song was first heard in early performances by Fiction Family, who still went by the name The Real SeanJon at the time. The earliest recorded performance was in December 2007. The finalized studio version was posted on the duo's Myspace on October 7, 2008, and was later made available for free download on the band's website.
Hello Hurricane is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot, released on November 10, 2009. It was co-produced by the band and Mike Elizondo, after initially self-producing their work, as well as test runs with producers such as Ken Andrews and Charlie Peacock. The album was recorded mainly in the band's Spot X Studio in their hometown of San Diego, California. It was originally to be released on October 6, 2009, but was pushed back to a November 10, 2009 release on their independent record label, the Atlantic-distributed lowercase people records. On February 13, 2011, the album won the award for Best Rock Gospel Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Vice Verses is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on September 27, 2011. "Dark Horses" was the first single released from the album, with an August 2 radio date and digital release on the same day. Vice Verses debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number eight. "Afterlife" impacted radio on February 28, 2012. "The Original" impacted radio on September 11, 2012.
Fiction Family Reunion is the second studio album by Fiction Family, which is the collaboration between Switchfoot frontman and solo artist Jon Foreman, Nickel Creek guitarist and solo artist Sean Watkins, Tyler Chester, and Aaron Redfield. It was released on January 29, 2013, through the indie record label, Rock Ridge Music.
Fading West is the ninth studio album by the American alternative rock band Switchfoot, released on January 14, 2014 through Atlantic. The album was promoted by four singles: "Who We Are" and "Love Alone Is Worth the Fight", released in September 2013, "Let It Out" released in February 2014, and "When We Come Alive", released in May 2014.
The Edge of the Earth is an extended play by American rock band Switchfoot, released digitally on September 9, 2014 through lowercase people/Atlantic. It consists of previously unreleased songs from Switchfoot's rock documentary film Fading West.
