There is a nice range of topics covered on Kathryn Mostow's Dreamers Everywhere, and there are dreamers in quite a few of the songs, too.

Mostow has a warm soprano voice that is smooth and easy to listen to; she also plays the acoustic guitar on the CD. The music drapes wonderfully around her vocals, supporting and giving back to her voice.

The rest of the musicians are Garey Shelton (bass), Joel Litwin (drums and percussion), Will Dowd (percussion), Tim Miller (percussion), Richard Middleton (piano, Hammond b3 and electric guitar), Joe Crookston (tremolo guitar and acoustic guitar), Wayne Horvitz (Hammond b3), Zak Borden (mandolin), Dan Tyack (resonator guitar), Paul Elliot (fiddle), Jami Sieger (cello) and Alicia Healey (backing vocals).

"I Give Thanks" is a beautiful song about love, dreams and thankfulness. Mostow looks back and sings of dreams that were in "In the Dark," then brings the dreams into the now. The upbeat music of "Sun/Rain" is driven by the pulsing beat of the percussion, the lyrics shifting to complete a circle by the end. The chorus of "Promise of Spring" could just as easily be about waiting for inspiration as for the change of seasons.

Mostow touches on the contradictions of how we see ourselves in "Pray Hard." The lightheartedness of "Peanut Butter Blues" comes in contrast of the seriousness of the song before it; it is a humorous blues song that is fun to relax to. She returns to more serious topics in "Freedom," as she talks of patriotism and freedom.

"Hello World" continues in a similar vein, looking at some of the things going on in the world around us. The bass adds rhythm to "All I," and the song feels like it is a cappella, so well do the voices weave together over it. Mostow's voice soars at times during "Worth the Wait," filling the lyrics with warmth.

Dreamers Everywhere is a pleasant CD, and there are some lovely dreams hinted at in the lyrics.

by Paul de Bruijn
Rambles.NET
2 September 2006

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