Jon Foreman: Departures
Photo by Erick Frost
Jon Foreman, frontman for the GRAMMY Award-winning alternative rock band Switchfoot, returns to the solo platform with his latest LP Departures. Dealing with the weight and insecurity that 2020 dealt to nearly everyone, Foreman put his creativity to work writing with the purpose to make sense of this tumultuous time. Each song on Departures was constructed and recorded in 2020. The album was recorded at Melody League Studios in San Diego, CA, produced by Foreman with additional production from Keith Tutt II and Aaron Redfield and is released today, February 12th, by the first label to ever sign Foreman, RE:THINK.
Foreman enlisted GRAMMY, Billboard and AMA Award-winning vocal super-star Lauren Daigle and fellow SoCal and GRAMMY nominated singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham to accompany him on Departures. “Side by Side” (feat. Madison Cunningham) is the most recent single release from the LP. It has a beautifully airy melody with a spectacular vocal duet that gives levity to the darkness of the past year. The track reflects on the fact that although our journeys may not all look the same, we are all affected by this difficult time and we will march through it and emerge side by side.
“Red and Gold” uses lyric and melody to weave two elements of a journey. The imagery of the red and gold taillights and headlights of cars traveling home during “the golden hour” on a California freeway, giving way to the twilight and stars that once guided the sojourners in search of their ultimate home. It’s a metaphor for hope and longing; realizing that the journey is just as important as the destination. The journey is what shapes you.
Another recent single release, “Education,” is also a song that is representative of letting the things that you go through shape your being. Life gives you many lessons and it is our responsibility to learn from those lessons. It’s also about finding the thing that you feel so passionate about that you lose yourself in it. Foreman cites a quote (with a controversial origin) in a YouTube video description, “‘Find what you love and let it kill you.’ Whoever said it first, it seems to be the only worthwhile way to die. And thus, the only worthwhile way to live.”
“Most things worth doing in this life / Are going to kill me in the end / If you haven’t learned that lesson yet / The scars are teachers that you’re never gonna forget”
The themes of the 12 tracks laid out in Departures are best characterized by Foreman’s attempt to navigate the storm which this past year has put him through. The highly prolific lyrics bring a sense of serenity and meaning. Jon describes the course of the year, “For me, 2020 has been a year of departures. And I’m not alone in this. For many of us, this has been a season of death. Of decay. Of fear and doubt and uncertainty. For Americans. For humans. For friends and relatives around the world. I’m not alone when I say that this has been a rough year.”
I urge you to spend some time with Departures. Let Jon Foreman’s words shed light in the darkness. Use them to conjure up meaning and lessons in the way we have dealt with the difficult times. Allow those lessons to guide you on your journey, seeking truth and promise of your own purpose and contentment. Departures is available everywhere today.
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