If this is your first time listening to Dreamer Boy, it’s a great place to start. Zach Taylor, a Nashville musician, spreads cheerful messages scored by atmospheric tunes under the name Dreamer Boy. His new album, All The Ways We Are Together, focuses on our interpersonal relationships and how we fit into the greater picture on the world stage. This album is friendly and familiar, using precious melodies and uplifting choruses to create a calm and comforting mood across its entirety. According to Taylor, “the songs are about the love we have for ourselves, the love we have for our friends, and the love we can show the environment around us.”
The opening track, “ATWWAT” is a soft-rising synthy song that hits you with flurries of what's to come. Some of the album is slow and laid-back, but there are a lot of upbeat parts too. Tracks like “Know You” and “Joy” are tinged with R&B essence with their slow moving grooves and melodic lyrics. His instrumentation is inventive, amplifying simple guitars and bass, alongside some synths, to create a new-aged atmosphere. “Bike” follows the same style, with a spacious production full of echo and reverb. The first half of the album moves along leisurely, allowing you time to fully grasp the message of love behind it.
“Easier Said Than Done” is a funk fusion held up by fast-paced guitar and an airy aesthetic. A song like this gives truth to the name, Dreamer Boy. The punching beat and lofty singing make it sound like you are falling through the sky in a dream-like state. His songs are always hopeful, even when singing about depressing topics like inner turmoil, not feeling like yourself or being able to relate to others, Dreamer Boy is able to put an optimistic twist on it.
The following track, “August” is the ideal model for a chilled R&B cool-down. It’s soft and soulful, with passionate singing delivered by Taylor, and uplifting backing vocals. The collaboration with Melanie Faye is the best part behind this album. Her feature on “Let’s Hold Hands” is bright and cheerful. She provides great backing vocals, and an absolutely wicked guitar solo to round off the track. The song comes with a playfully animated music video that spreads love and joy.
The album has a lot of somber moments too, like on “Shoreline” with it’s soft rhodes, and Taylor’s vocal delivery akin to Frank Ocean. As well as“All Our Dreams Came True”. It’s mostly instrumental, with Taylor harmonizing over the sweet sound of guitar. Most of the album seems to be more akin to an ‘80s synth-wave style, but here there is a certain country twang to the instrumentation. The next track, “Lightspeed” returns with the ‘80s aesthetic and amplifies it to great volume. It’s one of those heady songs that has you in your mind, imagining your own music video.
“All Or Nothing” – the last song on the album, is another style yet again, starting as a solo guitar moment, evolving into something sounding acoustic Bladee, in a good way. It’s a soft send-off that brings back tones from the start. Overall, All The Ways We Are Together is an easy listen, great for a walk in the park or a lazy Sunday afternoon. It’s joyful, and if you let it into your heart, it will leave you off in a great mood. It’s a fun style, fitting somewhere in between indie, new wave, and R&B, offering a little something for everyone. There’s soothing ambient moments, introspective lyricism, and hard-hitting choruses all packed into the same album. If you’re caught in a rut and looking for something new, then this album is definitely something for you.
The album was released on Earth Day, and Taylor is partnering with Root Nashville and One Tree Planted to plant one tree for every ten streams on Spotify. Stream the album here.
