Are You a Dreamer?

Performer: Denison Witmer
Producer: Don Paris
Distributor: RED Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Denison Witmer (vocals, acoustic guitar); Don Peris (vocals, electric guitar); Katrina Kerns (vocals); Mike Bitt (electric bass). These are the three warning signs of insufferable, gauzy preciousness: a guy who (1) accompanies his light, high-pitched singing with finger-picked acoustic guitar, (2) adorns the cover of his album with a hand-knitted textile of his own making, and (3) titles the album Are You a Dreamer? Denison Witmer has obviously hit the trifecta on this album, and so lowers your expectations to such a degree that it's almost impossible not to be impressed with the results. But really, you'd have been impressed even if he hadn't suckered you with the hand-knit cover art. For one thing, that finger-picked guitar is more complex than it sounds at first; for another thing, his gentle voice never collapses into wimpiness; and for another, Whitmer manages without apparent effort the tremendously difficult task of making hugely attractive music generally lacking in conspicuous hooks. For the most part, the hook is just the sound itself, as on the sad and gorgeous "Worry All the Time" and the melancholy but optimistic "Everything But Sleep." When he brings in a full band, the sound is somehow still pretty in much the same way -- check the lovely title track, for example. And when he uses sleigh bells, it doesn't sound quite as weird as you'd imagine. Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson

Q (p.112) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Opener 'Little Flowers' showcases his subtle and complex guitar picking and sets an unflagging airy tone for the album..." Uncut (p.106) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Exuding a meditative serenity that echoes Damien Jurado, a loose concept of finding hope through dreams underpins Witmer's songs, an airy theme matched by the ethereal shimmer of the accompaniment."

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