Everyone wants to be an indie rock star these days. As the reputation of major labels and the recording biz continues to take hit after hit, there’s never been a better time to be a starving artist. Or at least appear to be one.

Grammy-nominated band Switchfoot recently became an “indie band” after announcing they had parted ways with major Columbia and were planning on releasing their next studio effort independently. But to call this type of release an “indie” is really a misrepresentation of reality. With a double-platinum album under their belt (The Beautiful Letdown) it’ll be difficult to ever categorize Switchfoot as indie, major label or not.

The case is the same with Switchfoot frontman, Jon Foreman, who is in the process of releasing four solo EPs to coincide with the seasons. Aptly titled Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer, the EPs are meant to represent a more stripped-down sound – essentially, an “indie sound.” Originally released digitally, the Fall and Winter EPs are now available packaged together physically in a two-disc set.

Both EPs certainly represent a different sound than Switchfoot is known for. Many of the songs are purely acoustic, prominently featuring Foreman’s voice. These EPs are all Jon Foreman, and that is both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness.

Jon Foreman is a superlative songwriter. Lyrically, these EPs impress over and over. “Equally Skilled” from Fall, an examination of humans’ ability to do wrong and God’s ability to do right, is fantastic, as is “Somebody’s Baby” from Winter, a story about a forgotten girl. The songs are consistently lyrically excellent, full of rich imagery and poetic eloquence.

The problems start to creep up elsewhere, though. Acoustic arrangements tend to be more difficult to prevent monotony in than the heavily layered sounds Switchfoot is known for. Unfortunately, the arrangements are generally unimaginative on Foreman’s EPs. There’s nothing musically here that draws any attention, and despite a conception that acoustic music is just that way, it’s not true. Indie and acoustic arrangements do not equal boredom if done well. These are not done poorly, just not very creatively. In this way, indie appears to not be Foreman’s forte.

In addition, Foreman’s voice is just not well suited to this type of music. That’s not to say that Foreman is vocally incapable, just that his voice fits much better with the anthemic Switchfoot sound than the stripped-down indie sound.

These concerns don’t render the EPs completely worthless whatsoever. The visual imagery that is evoked throughout the course of each disc makes them well worth a listen, even if the rather ordinary arrangements make repeated listens a less exciting experience.

With two more EPs on the way to round out his seasonal foray into solo work, Foreman has room to build on his slightly underwhelming debut. Fall and Winter are acceptable efforts that hardcore Switchfoot fans will likely love just because they were created by Foreman. Perhaps Spring and Summer will bring new things with them and a greater exploration of what Foreman is able to accomplish as an indie artist, even though he’s really not an indie artist, major label or not.