Eastern Hymns for Western Shores

History

Word of a possible lost EP of Switchfoot songs began circulating when fan websites received word from "inside sources" of a release called "Eastern Hymns for Western Shores".

Noted site Land of Broken Hearts posted this message on April 27, 2009:

"Switchfoot inside sources have shared with Land of Broken Hearts EXCLUSIVELY the following information: there's another release coming. It's called "Eastern Hymns for Western Shores" and it's an EP of unreleased Switchfoot songs. (AKEE!) The guys are really excited about this, however they're just not sure how and when to release it... but it will be coming SOON."

No word came after that for almost an entire year, until drummer Chad Butler was asked about the release in January 2010. Butler admitted to being unclear of plans for the tunes, saying "I'm sure that'll come out maybe sometime this year. We'll see."

This was the last anyone heard of Eastern Hymns for Western Shores until the official announcement was sent out via email newsletter. In the email, Switchfoot revealed that the songs were recorded between the Nothing Is Sound and Oh! Gravity. sessions. The masters for these songs were thought to have been lost or stolen for years until they were finally recovered, recorded and mixed within the same week. The band went on to describe that the six songs showcase a "darker and more mysterious sound for the band", and that they had gone "all out" on the packaging.