Please don't waste a dream.

"Don't look into my eyes. Open your ears to my music and look into my heart."

DEYO—known to friends and family and potential lovers as Christopher Deyo Braun)—released his self-titled debut in October. It's a lovely little collection of gently pulsing songs leveraging synth propulsion without being "synth pop." I'd probably slot it more in the stacks of indie R&B or DIY soul if I really felt the need to label this sort of thing. (I'm getting more comfortable with people's needs when it comes to "genres," just as long as you're not calling Green Day "emo," or Arcade Fire* "indie rock," or twenty one pilots "alternative rock.")

I was just about to file DEYO in my "pleasure to listen to, maybe give it another spin later" folder when the penultimate track "Overlapping" came on and I was newly in love. And found myself playing it over and over as its psychic effect cast sunlight upon my soul.

Y'see, I'm a sucker for insanely simple yet hooky synth lines—Gorillaz's "On Melancholy Hill" can move me close to tears with its deceptively simple synth plinks—and "Overlapping" maps its intentions firmly over that territory. And when Braun sings "Please don't waste a dream / I put my faith in you, you put your faith in me" it in fact refreshes my faith in hopeful outcomes.

Seems like an excellent way to kick off a new week, huh?



*Fun fact! One of the engineers on this album has also worked with Arcade Fire! I'm not sure why that's newsworthy! But now you know!