As a longtime fan of Switchfoot and lead singer Jon Foreman, I’m always keeping my ear to the ground for new material from them. It’s been an interesting ride, too, watching them start out as the Christian alternative band from southern California in the late 90′s to the ambiguous major-label rock band more recently.

Needless to say, I was more than happy, as I’m sure many fans were, when the band announced their departure from SonyBMG/Columbia records this past summer. After the release of Oh! Gravity, they were slowly loosing me as a listener, getting away from what I think we all knew was possible. But that’s all changed for me, at least at the outset. With their creation of their own label, Lowercase People Records, their is a pleasant resurgence of original, captivating, albeit more indie-acoustic music that I’m really diggin’.

His newest EP release entitled Fall (and first to my knowledge, a second EP entitled Winter slated for this winter), came out on iTunes last week and has really got my attention. It’s fresh, heart-felt and original. The confines and requirements of big music labels are not present, but melodic, open acoustic guitar parts, subtle horn sections and well placed clarinet lines certainly are. More reminiscent of emo than rock, Formean’s lyrics and delivery are raw and melancholy, perfect for those pensive rainy days.

If this is a harbinger of what’s to come from Jon Foreman and Lowercase People Records, than I welcome it with open arms. Here’s to more creative music from the guys in So Cal! Make sure to go check out Fall on iTunes (even just listen to the free samples) and then please leave your comments back here; I’d love to know what you think!

Thanks for spending some time with me today.

CH