Fiona Joy Hawkins – Blue Dreams (CD)

“Freedom” is the first track on Fiona Joy Hawkins’ latest album, “Blue Dreams”. The emotive piano work of Hawkins is immediately sown during “Freedom”, a track that dovetails nicely into “Feeling Sunshine”. “Feeling Sunshine” has a quicker tempo that will get listeners’ hearts beating as Hawkins attempts to emote through her piano. However, the strongest track on the early reaches of “Blue Dreams” has to be “From The Outside”. The track rises and falls, as a whole panoply of emotions and feelings issue forth from nothing more than Hawkins’ piano. It is during “From The Outside” that Hawkins skill shines the brightest: while subsequent tracks like “Standing Well” do well in showing a dedicated character, it is this earlier track that shows Hawkins’ range as clear as day.

Each track brings something else for listeners to pick up on, whether it be hints of jazz, blues, world music, and even more contemporary pop and rock arrangements. Where artists like Ani, Tori, and Dar Williams need to pair their work with vocals and lyrics, Hawkins’ compositions all stand on their own. Hawkins imbues each of the tracks on “Blue Dreams” with an instrumental and narrative component, something unique that allows listeners to play the disc countless times without getting everything that she has placed into a simple three or four minute composition. Despite the fact that the album has a mind-bending total of twenty-two tracks, each composition on “Blue Dreams” shares a similar impressive quality that, unlike most albums by other artists, does not decrease as the quantity of songs increases.

“Azure Interlude” is the penultimate track on “Blue Dreams”, and it is strong because of how Hawkins’ piano interacts with the open spaces that are present. The darkness acts in an atmospheric way, providing a different canvas for which Hawkins can then paint on. “Blue Dreams” is another in a series of strong albums, and the tracks on the this album ensure that I will be picking up Hawkins’ next release, whenever she may end up releasing it. Where individuals may want to shy away from the release due to its instrumental nature, I exhort you to give it a listen and tell me that it does not surpass any smilar lyrical music that is out there.

Top Tracks: Sapphire Interlude, Samite’s Interlude

Rating: 8.7/10

Fiona Joy Hawkins – Blue Dreams / 2008 Self / 22 Tracks / http://myspace.com/fionajoyhawkins / http://fionajoyhawkins.com /