this is my attempt to create a new, ongoing series of posts which will be called music you should know. this is a chance for me to talk about some of the music i’ve discovered that may not be that well known, but is definitely worth being made well known. now, i’m not claiming all this music will be obscure, as i’m sure many of you might possibly know this stuff, but it’s stuff that isn’t hyped all the time in the mainstream and known by the average music listener.

in this series, i hope to keep it brief by showing the album cover (or interesting photo, like in this one) and giving three reasons you’ll like it. short and sweet (in theory…). ok, so here’s the first one.

fiction family is an album/band that i’ve been looking forward to for quite some time because of the parties involved. fiction family is a joining together of jon foreman (most well known for his leadership of switchfoot) and sean watkins (most well known for his role as 1/3 of the nickel creek triumvirate). while i’m more of a late-90’s switchfoot fan, i’m still a fan, and even more so a fan of foreman’s solo albums (which are amazing). i’m a HUGE fan of nickel creek, so this pairing has been highly anticipated.

here’s the reasons you should know this music:

1. this is truly a great musical partnership. a lot of times in these kinds of deals (like, unfortunately, the blend of nickel creek and glenn phillips as the mutual admiration society), you lose so much of both that it becomes this weird “other thing.” in this case, though, this is the perfect union of the two artists. it’s exactly what you would think it would sound like if you combined jon foreman and sean watkins.

2. the music is so honest and true. both artists’ songwriting has always been characterized by raw and authentic portrayals of real life. you don’t get some kind of hyper-reality or surreal love experience. it’s life as it happens—both the beautifully poetic and the painfully real.

3. if you’ve somehow found yourself in a musical cave and haven’t heard switchfoot or, specifically, jon foreman, you’re missing something. i can think of no one who sounds like jon foreman. his voice is so unique and captivating. it demands your attention. for some, it could be an acquired taste, but i really love the uniqueness of his voice.

so, take a listen. my favorite track so far is called mostly prove me wrong. it’s really layered and shows the authenticity i was talking about.

mostly prove me wrong

and, since it’s so good and fun, here’s the video for their lead single, when she’s near.