Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Also released as a series of four EPs, the second part of two double albums documenting each hour in the day focuses on the hours between 11pm and 10am and sees Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman in understandably reflective mode given the album's predominant footing in the wee small hours. Resisting the temptation to go all introspective and maudlin, Foreman instead offers up a collection of disparate pieces that gently convey hope whilst not neglecting to acknowledge the kind of thoughts that always seem to rise to the surface in the middle of the night. For instance, the likes of "She Said" and "Come Home" sees Foreman sensitively tackle insecurity whilst an intimately performed duet with Sara Watkins on "June & Johnny" is a poignant song about relationships that leads into a stirring cry for identity through God on the final side C song "Inner Peace". The mood subtly changes on the second disc (or fourth if we're looking at the project as a whole) with songs depicting the hope found through Jesus taking centrestage amidst the appropriate setting of the dawn of a new day with "Run Free" and "Inseparable" containing Scriptural references whilst the musically juxtaposed song of Christ's sacrifice "Mercy's War" is arguably the highlight of the release. One gets the sense that Foreman has perhaps had to shoehorn some of his songs into the overall linear concept of the 'Wonderlands' series but his sheer skill as a songwriter and performer - plus a variety that comes having a veritable football team of producers - more than compensates.

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