It
takes about three full spins to rinse the Switchfoot expectations from your
mind. After all, Jon Foreman isn’t a solo artist, but the well-known figure of
a prominent band—so no excuses are necessary if you take the requisite
moment(s) I did. But after the mental shift, you’ll be glad you stuck around;
Foreman’s solo turns are absolutely brilliant.
The first two of four planned
seasonally-titled EPs,
Fall and Winter, spin largely acoustic yarns of
bedroom solitude. Yet, seasonal depression never sounded this good. Foreman now
has permission to dive deep into the dark places that a radio rock band (and a
Christian one at that!) won’t allow, and he takes full advantage, exploring the
melancholy side of his own life (“Lord, Save Me From Myself,” “Learning How To
Die”) or those he sees (“Somebody’s Baby”).
Musically, Foreman stretches his
unplugged wings as wide as he can, from the guzheng—a Chinese zither of
sorts—on “In Love” to the slow gospel march on “I Am Still Running.” The
straight-from-Scripture approach of “White As Snow” melds harmonics with
popular Psalms. The haunting “My Love Goes Free” seems to utilize a piano that
hasn’t been kept properly. All in all, Foreman keeps a potentially sleepy EP
from being just that.
But the primary beauty of these
seasons is in the lyrical confessions found in a vulnerable front man allowing
you into his heart. Foreman’s delicate falsetto, especially on “My Love Goes
Free,” expresses pain in ways most artists don’t even attempt to strive toward.
Foreman is indeed the humble genius we believed he was, with
Fall and Winter serving as some of the strongest evidence to date.
- Matt Conner