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Has your support remained strong among the Christian community?

Foreman We've been really fortunate. People within Christendom still know who we are, and they still trust us and remember us for the most part. There's always going to be people who don't understand what you're doing. The bigger you get, and the more what you're doing is known, the more it's misunderstood.

At first I used to hate to think that somebody wouldn't know what we're doing. I would be the first one to want to talk to them and explain it. And then I realized our music isn't for everyone. To think that everyone is going to understand it and that we're going to be everyone's favorite band is a little unrealistic. Then you think, Well, I just want to be making music that I'm proud of, that I feel like is exactly what I'm put here on earth to do. And that becomes your goal. And it's a much more realistic goal, because you're responsible to One instead of to millions.

The Beautiful Letdown had such widespread critical acclaim and strong sales. Reaction to Nothing Is Sound was mixed. How do you explain the difference?

Foreman You can tell a really good joke, but if people don't get it, you can't explain it. I feel much more like an archeologist than an inventor. I'm not the guy who tinkers in my workshop all day long in an attempt to achieve a goal. I have no preconceived notion when I write a song. All I do is dig. And you discover a city that's been there all along. Those are the good days, you know, where songs just come to you. I can't look at the dig that happened for Nothing Is Sound and be self-critical.

I feel like there were a lot of things that needed to find the surface that maybe were uncomfortable for people. But I feel like those were—up until Oh! Gravity—the best songs that we'd ever written. I'm comfortable with other people not appreciating it. There are certain types of food that aren't for everyone. As a chef you can't be limited to making hamburgers because you know everyone's going to be satisfied with that.

"American Dream" on Oh! Gravity reprises some of your critiques of consumerism, which are also featured in fan favorites like "Company Car." Is Christendom implicated in these warnings? How do you ward off the corrupting influence money can have along with success?

Foreman I'm implicating everyone, myself included. To think that you're not susceptible to the lure of cold, hard cash and the advantages it buys us in this life is to be ridiculously foolish. I think that we've all fallen to our knees to many of the things that our nation has to offer. For me the grounding, the centering of my soul is something that comes in various forms, whether it's in meditation or reading or even travel to foreign countries. There are a lot of ways that you can kind of loosen your grip on the American steering wheel, and those are the things that I find to be really healthy.

I'm reminded every night of what I've written. And I noticed with Nothing Is Sound, singing a depressing song night after night can wear you out. Depressing songs need to be written, but joyful songs also need to be sung.

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