Lindsay Bellows: “Wake To Dream” (2017) CD Review

The debut release from Lindsay Bellows, Wake To Dream, is a delightful EP of pop music with folk elements and soulful vocals, and plenty of positive vibes. It features all original material, written by Lindsay Bellows. Joining her on this CD are Ananda Vaughan on guitar, Jared May on bass, Beau Askew on drums, Makila Wind on keys, and Jason O’Keefe on percussion, with Spencer Williams on drums on certain tracks. This is a disc I appreciate more each time I listen to it.

Lindsay kicks off the CD with “Slow Steady,” one of my favorite tracks. It has a cool, kind of playful opening with a simple groove on keys and vocals, and I’m hooked from the start. There is also something quite catchy about this song, and it, like all the tunes on this EP, features hopeful and encouraging ideas. Check out these lines: “When I reach too far ahead, there is nothing to hold onto/Fall too far behind, and I’ll never catch up/Release the things I caught and crave/Make peace with things I hate.” Toward the end of the song she sings, “I am exactly where I’m supposed to be.” How often do we feel that way? Spencer Williams plays drums on this track.

Lindsay’s vocals are the focus in “Wake Up,” which begins with lines delivered a cappella. In this song, she offers a positive image of a reality. “I woke up and I saw things in a different way/Words changed meaning, darkness faded/People I know, places I’d been/Didn’t look the same/But this is a beautiful world.” While she’s singing of her own personal experience, the fact that the song is titled “Wake Up” and not “Woke Up” indicates a reaching out to others, like she wants everyone to have the same positive experience that she’s had. Pretty cool. That’s what we need these days. “Heal each other/Listen.” Plus, I dig that bass line.

“Part Life” has more of a pleasant, bright folk vibe, and is another of my favorites. There is something catchy about this one too. These lines certainly speak to me: “Stuck in my head about my day, all I did and didn’t do/Set on a schedule, I can’t miss a beat/Gotta eat, fall asleep, wake up, work, cycle, repeat.” What strikes me especially is that part about being stuck on the things I’ve done with my day as well as the things I haven’t done. How often do we measure our days by little accomplishments and the things we did not accomplish? “This is only a part life that I’m living/Only part of me is alive/And that part is part of something greater, I know/And I can’t wait to feel what that’s like.”

“Wild And Free” has a cool, kind of sexy vibe and attitude, and features more good work on bass. “Climb the tree of life and I eat that fruit/Eyes opening now, I start seeing the truth/The only way to survive is to turn to our roots.” The EP then concludes with “Simple Gifts,” a cheerful pop song offering advice and reminders, such as “Don’t try to get rich, just surround yourself with friends” and “You don’t need an important job to do important work.”

CD Track List

1. Slow Steady
2. Wake Up
3. Part Life
4. Wild And Free
5. Simple Gifts 

Wake To Dream was released on November 7, 2017.