As promised, here is this week’s review of Jon Foreman’s first EP project. Appropriately, we begin the series of reviews with Fall (even though it definitely was T-shirt and shorts weather today). Before I review… let’s play a little word association. Ready? Fall! Leaves… Bright colours… Pumpkins… Somberness… Coldness to come… These are only some of the words I think of when I imagine autumn, and Jon Foreman examines all of these aspects of the season along with some more original and insightful aspects of fall as well.

Track 1) The Cure for Pain ¬– No saving the best for last here; Foreman starts Fall off with the “catchiest” song of the EP. This is simply strategic planning considering that a lot of listeners probably wouldn’t bother to listen to the rest of the EP if it started off with a bad song. However, this is not to say that the other songs are bad… no, it is simply that the other tracks just require more time to grow on you, whereas The Cure for Pain is an immediate favourite.
The strumming pattern of the guitar, the use of ghost notes, and the soft trumpets set this song apart from your usual acoustic hit. Foreman’s vocal talent is that his voice manages to merge roughness with malleability, and he uses this perfectly on the track to solidify its poignant tone. The lyrics are very Foreman-like as well: “I've spent ten years singing gravity away / But the water keeps on falling from the sky” (a reference to his band’s last album? It was titled Oh! Gravity). The sentimental tone of this song does a pretty good job of setting up the “autumn” theme for the rest of the EP.

Track 2) Southbound Train ¬– Here the EP progresses from the somewhat depressing acoustic rock of The Cure for Pain to a more hopeful folk sound with the use of harmonicas. Violins are used as well – but not overused like in a lot of recent pop songs that attempt to sound graceful. The accompanying string section plays an intro that succeeds in sounding like a train’s engine chugging along – painting a picture of train tracks in the countryside where the leaves just started changing colour. Of course good songwriters provide imagery through lyrics, but through instruments? Speaking of lyrics, here’s the best line in the song – “Or maybe I’m just feeling old / Like a lawyer with no one to blame.” That’s going to be a common idiom in the English language starting now.

Track 3) Lord, Save Me from Myself ¬– This song is proof that the momentum was building in the first two tracks as it is the most upbeat song of the EP so far. A guitar riff with plenty of hammer-ons and a liquid rhythm kick off the song – and although musically this is not Foreman’s best, the lyrics should definitely not be overlooked: “My mind is dull and faded / From these years of buy and sell / My eyes have seen the glory / Of this hollow, modern shell.” Employing the common idea of tiredness associated with autumn, Foreman’s lyrics paint himself as a man who is not impressed with modern society.

Track 4) Equally Skilled – The lyrics of the song come directly from the Bible… Micah Chapter 7, in fact. Of course, Foreman puts the verses into his own words, singing about his desperation; how he feels like “a fruit-picker who arrived here after the harvest.” The bleak lyrics run along the theme of the death of nature during autumn. Musically, the track is better than Lord, Save Me from Myself. The guitar part includes a lot of sliding, picking, hammering-on, and pulling-off. During the instrumental breaks, the scratchy steel of the guitar strings produces a chilly sound while the vocal harmonies (all oohs of Foreman’s voice) also add an eerie sound to the song. However, where the instrumental parts may seem slightly cold, the vocals manage to sound warm – like a fireplace in a cold house: signaling the coming cold. Again, Foreman uses musical imagery to convey autumnal scenes.

Track 5) The Moon Is a Magnet – The shortest song of the EP (it’s only one minute and fifty-four seconds long), this song is also the most abstract; musically and lyrically, it is one hard nut to crack. A complex guitar picking pattern (with a unique choice of notes), vague words, and an abrupt ending leave a lot to the listener to decide. Although the song sounds experimental, it is definitely enjoyable. The fuzzy sound of the accompanying horn triggers mental pictures of the golden leaves… ahh…

Track 6) My Love Goes Free – The only song on the EP that doesn’t have any guitars in it, My Love Goes Free keeps a simple piano progression throughout. It ends the EP with the familiar sentimental tone as in The Cure for Pain, but it is presented differently… the former track previewed autumn but this song sets the stage for winter. The song content is quite appropriately summarized in one of its lines: “If you love her let her go.” This is perhaps the easiest song to understand, and it closes the EP by returning a sense of confidence to the listener after the abstruse The Moon Is a Magnet. Although it does not exactly use any musical or lyrical autumnal imagery, it concludes the EP nicely by previewing the sound we will be hearing on Winter.