The first of four projected solo projects, Fall allows Foreman to break away from the pressure of producing innovative yet commercially viable songs for his band, Switchfoot, to turn into radio hits - instead, we encounter Foreman in a more personal musical setting where subtleties come to the fore (no pun intended) as his unique vocal delivery and a more eclectic, if sparse, instrumental palette is used to color the compositions. Lyrically, these songs wouldn't be off-limits to a Switchfoot treatment (since the band does offer some of rock's more intelligent, thoughtful lyrics already), but they take on a more intimate connotation when sung by Foreman accompanied by his guitar and only a few other instruments.

The EP's opening track, "The Cure For Pain," features Foreman's un-polished vocals, appealing in their roughness, backed only by his acoustic guitar and his (presumably) over-dubbed hummed background, joined by what sounds like a distant Salvation Army brass accompaniment, coming in softly, on a breeze. Hardly a good-time tune, the song is somber, yet somehow catchy - with lyrics that contain imagery of broken cisterns, stars blacking out, and water falling from ‘the skies,' ‘your eyes,' and ‘tries.' 

"Southbound Train," conjures up Neil Diamond (without the bombast) singing a song written by Bob Dylan. "Train" is the album's truest pure love song, with Foreman backed up by what sounds like a country-influenced string trio, singing about heading ‘home' to the girl who's taken over the meaning of that word. "I'm heading home / yeah, but I'm not so sure that home is a place/ you can still get to by train," he sings, as the rhythm of the train takes him, not back to a place, but to images of the one he loves; the song has a classic feel to it and would certainly be a candidate for covers by other artists. 

In a moment of self-examination rare to most rock stars, Foreman, in "Lord, Save Me From Myself," declares, "My mind is dull and faded/From these years of buy and sell/My eyes have seen the glory/Of this hollow modern shell ...Electric sun keep shining/Ripen daughters of the chrome/This world is where I breathe/Let it never be called home ...ah, Lord save me from myself!" This Bruce Cockburn-like song has a very inventive structure, and features the most ‘band-like' musical back-up, complete with drums and organ backing up Jon and his acoustic guitar.

"Equally Skilled," starts out with the words, "how miserable I am," but don't let that scare you away, since this is a beautiful song (even though it's about our own ugliness) in the musical tradition of Paul Simon - once again, the judicious use of drums, a cello, synth-strings, and a hummed chorus of Jon Foreman's is put to good musical use.

The surprise appearance of what sounds like two clarinets adds a uniqueness to the short "The Moon is a Magnet," a vignette about love, sadness, the moon... a lot to cover, for a song that comes in at under two minutes.

The vulnerability in Foreman's delivery gives these performances a very human sound, and on "My Love Goes Free," it's just Jon and a very un-processed acoustic piano (think ‘lost Lennon tapes'), sounding very human indeed - over-dubbed hummed voices are the only additional accompaniment, near the end of the song, keeping things very organic and intimate, as a song about love, loss and freedom should be.

The charm of this project lies not in the razzle-dazzle, but in the simplicity of the compositions and the personal, intimate feeling that's conveyed. There are no blistering guitar breaks, or powerhouse drums here - just acoustic instruments playing good songs and Foreman's vocals. A word about the vocals: Jon Foreman's vocal delivery, with its various quirks, is very inviting and non-threatening, even though he's not afraid to stretch to the limits of his range, and even go into a falsetto. The singing is brave, and - best of all - sounds like Jon Foreman, and not like an over-processed, trendy pop power-singer.  It's the human factor that ultimately makes a difference here.  I'm looking forward to Winter, Spring, and Summer. So should you.

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