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JFH Music Review


Jon Foreman, The Wonderlands: Dawn
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Jon Foreman
The Wonderlands: Dawn



Artist Info: Discography
Genre(s): Acoustic / Folk / Pop
Album length: 6 tracks
Street Date: October 23, 2015


READER RATING:   


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



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JFH Staff's Additional 2 Cents


    Jon Foreman finishes up his "song for every hour of the day" project with Dawn, and a fine idea for a series of songs is drawn to a close in a grand fashion. Full of the kind of positive songs that you might associate with the breaking of day, Dawn ends the cycle of songs with beautiful musings on lifelong love, both of the romantic and spiritual kind. "Run Free" starts with quoting from the book of Isaiah (the same passage Jesus read in his hometown synagogue at the beginning of his ministry) and segues into a song where the Lord is the narrator, encouraging the believer to "run free," because of what has been done for you on the cross. "Inseparable" celebrates the powerful love of God, and "When We Collide" could have made a dynamic Switchfoot song. The whole 25-song collection (yeah, he snuck an extra one in there on Darkness) ends with the musically uplifting hoedown "Before Our Time," which serves as a fantastic catharsis for the whole Wonderlands project, and encourages the listener "to sing before our time runs out." Long live Jon Foreman, and may we all live in "the wonderlands" of God's grace. - 10/26/15, Alex Caldwell of Jesusfreakhideout.com

 

 

. Record Label: Lowercase People / Word Records
. Album length: 6 tracks
. Street Date: October 23, 2015

  1. Inheritance
  2. Run Free
  3. Inseparable
  4. When We Collide
  5. Mercy's War
  6. Before Our Time

 

 

 

 

 



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