In the 1890's, French impressionist painter Claude Monet did a series of 30 paintings of the Rouen Cathedral under various lighting conditions and at different times of the year to illustrate the importance of light and time in our perception of a subject. Jon Foreman has a similar vision for his Wonderland series, but instead of paintings, he used the medium of song and instead of a church, his subject is the human condition. With the preceding EP's tackling material like mortality, addiction, and hypocrisy, Dawn EP offers relief from the weightiness. The back porch acoustic number "Inheritance" kicks off the EP with a heartwarming story of Foreman's relationship with his wife Emily, threaded with a sweet and catchy chorus: "your heart is a work of art / I want to be rich in memories not money / our love is our inheritance, honey." All the songs here are well-constructed and thoughtful, but one that particularly stands out is "Mercy's War," which is characterized by a relaxed acoustic guitar accompanied by a playful clarinet. This casual setting is perfect for the poignant and poetic lyrics Foreman crafts to tell of the redemption God offers through the blood of Jesus. The EP and the series close on the fun "Before Our Time," which has an unexpected hoedown in the middle of the song. Few artists can pull off a project as ambitious as The Wonderlands, but Foreman makes it look easy. Dawn and Shadows are arguably the strongest EP's in the series, but this music is best experienced from start (Sunlight) to finish (Dawn).

- Review date: 10/4/15, written by Christopher Smith of Jesusfreakhideout.com