Here is this week’s track-by-track review for Jon Foreman’s Winter:

Track 1) Learning How to Die - Just like Foreman began Fall, the second acoustic EP in his seasonal series kicks off with a mellow guitar-and-vocal-melody based song. The guitar is accompanied by simple strings and horns to build on the simple guitar riff and create more atmosphere in the song. The simple drum beat allows the audience to focus more easily on the lyrics, about the notion that human lifetimes are spent “learning how to die.” Foreman’s interesting perspective on how to “live” inspires the listener to craft their life considering how they want to exit this world.

Track 2) Behind Your Eyes - Inspired by the famous line in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, about how the only way to truly understand a person is to crawl into their skin and walk around in it, Behind Your Eyes sees Foreman wanting to escape from the confines of his body to fully appreciate the whole experience of “understanding” someone else. Musically, the song is more upbeat than the previous track, but it is also quite simple, consisting only of an acoustic guitar riff, a steady beat, and Foreman’s voice. Because it concerns the end of one’s life, it is appropriate for Winter as the season deals with endings.

Track 3) Somebody’s Baby - This wistful song triggers images of a cold street where snowflakes are softly falling on an already white ground. The lyrics paint in an homeless person on the curb of this street as they commentate on the life and death of a neglected and unappreciated outcast from society. The point of the song is that even homeless people were once considered a beautiful blessing into this world. Foreman epitomizes this point in the chorus where, after singing about a specific homeless woman, he says, “She’s somebody’s baby, somebody’s baby girl, and she’s somebody baby still.” The last part of the chorus is to reflect on the idea that there is a divine being who still values the homeless woman.
The winter imagery is not only crafted by the lyrics, but also by the guitar’s ambient sound and the effective violins in the chorus. Considering lyrical and musical complementation, this is the best song on the EP.

Track 4) White As Snow - This song progresses the EP from depressing winter mode to a peaceful winter mood. Again, guitar and strings make up most of the instrumental section of this song. The one noticeable change is that the drums play a slightly bigger role with more beats per bar. Jon plays harmonics on his guitar to replicate the sound of Christmas bells, and the theme is very much Christian. The song is a plea to God to have mercy on his soul and “create in [him] a clean heart...” by washing him “white as snow.” The snow aspect of this song makes it obvious why it belongs on Winter. The bridge of this song is an exceptionally nice listen.

Track 5) I Am Still Running - On this song Foreman changes the mood from peaceful to relaxed (yes, there is a difference; this track sounds lazier.) The lyrics, however, talk about Foreman’s insecurities - creating a contrast between the words and the music. This is not the best song on the EP, as it can become repetitive, but it is still an enjoyable part of Winter.

Track 6) In Love - Perhaps the most experimental song of all four seasonal EPs, In Love replicates an Asian string sound. Although it was probably played on the guitar, the strings sound like they could be those of the koto or shamisen. Instead of a cello, it sounds like a bassoon is used to create the deep bass sound behind the atmospheric notes of the strings. Foreman applies the rule that “simple is best” lyrically. In fact, half of the words are identical; Foreman follows a pattern that interlaces the words “in love” and “my love” among words that talk about his willingness to sacrifice. It’s kind of like a very repetitive, but deliberate Mad Libs. Musically it is very repetitive as well, without a climax, but this song still makes for an interesting listen as it is so different from Foreman’s usual recipe of acoustic guitars, violins, cellos, horns, and drums.
Again, the atmospheric sounds trigger winter images... and the simplicity of the song triggers the simplicity of white snow everywhere, closing Winter in a reflective mood. Maybe it’s a good time to start working on those New Year resolutions.