Harmony Dreamers is a project conceived and guided by composer/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Byron Lee Scott and one of 2022’s most notable musical events so far. It would be interesting for me and I am sure others to delve into the thought process inspiring Scott to write these songs and adopt the conceptual framework that defines this release. It’s undoubtedly the work of a songwriter well aware of the countless challenges our world faces today and, seeing the need for us to find common ground to overcome any of these difficulties, Scott has dreamed up a project that embodies such principles far better than any conventional rock and roll band lineup ever could.
Functioning as the album’s creative center and appearing in some way on every track, Scott reached out across the world recruiting players sympathetic to his musical vision. The songs on this collection, however weird or unusual they may occasionally be, blossom with melodies and physically-involving rhythms that listeners can latch on and return to – again and again. “I Come from Earth” is, by far, the album’s weirdest number, but not unmusical – the juxtaposition of the rhythms and Scott’s vocal have an exciting effect as you listen.
Later tracks such as “Sophie and Pearl” take a completely different tact. The essentially friendly and light-hearted spirits in each song are similar, but the latter represents Scott composing in a much more conventional mode than the opener. The latter isn’t as broadly comic, as well. One aspect of such songs that may elude the listener’s attention is Scott’s mastery of significant detail that helps give an unique, individualistic spin to each of the album’s compositions.
Balancing it against the rock pose he strikes in songs such as “No Stopping” and even later, even invoking straight-forward power chord like rock, takes immense skill. He’s shooting big with this conceptual release and the open-hearted longing for a better world seems genuine rather than some sort of hook. It is that, of course, without question, but these songs are likewise capable of standing on their own separated from the running order. “The First Song Suite” is another example of Scott finding ways of beefing up the body of the album and, more importantly, sounds convincing in that role.
Putting a three part song on the tail end of the album was a daring move you don’t quite expect from an inaugural project such as this. “Spinning Round the Sun”, however, works from the first time you hear it and, with repeated exposure, sounds more and more like the ideal “big number” for this album. It seems to encapsulate every theme the preceding songs explored and rephrases those themes into something the earlier songs never dared attempt. I Come from Earth is, overall, a bold move and not just a gimmick. These are songs whose melodic and instrumental roots run deep and they are delivered with equal parts skill and passion; Harmony Dreamers and Byron Lee Scott will have to go a long way to top it.
Heather Savage
