Take a trip across America through Lonestar, the lens of Dreamer Boy’s final act.
Dreamer Boy (Zach Taylor) has donned the red, white, and blue rodeo clown getup since 2018. Now, with his third album, Lonestar, it’s time to take off the makeup.
The album depicts Taylor traveling from Tennessee to Los Angeles after a breakup – driving through country roads along the way. The accompanying visuals depict this story nostalgically as Taylor passes through his childhood state of Texas, the Lone Star State. The videos are shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio with film grain, rich colors, and shallow depth of field that evoke old medium format film photography. As he passes from the country to Los Angeles, the videos go from color to black and white as a bare-faced Taylor now sings through the urban streets. As he explains in a recent press release: “I landed here [Los Angeles] and lived in that little character arch for the most part during the creation of this album. There is me, and there is the Rodeo Clown character I am portraying. They both feel familiar and embarrassing. Foolish love is the only way to go for it, but it means you take the risk, and true love will humble you. Worth it every time.”
The songs themselves feel like a hot summer night – driving with the windows down or sitting around a campfire. Both the songs “Mud” and “Kansas” use extended instrumental outros which evoke the never-ending highways of his cross-country road trip.
The album ends with the song “Harmony.” Dreamer Boy reminisces on his lost love in the first verse, his childhood home in the second, and then ends the song with another extended outro. In the chorus, he repeatedly sings “I love you forever” – which can be addressed to either subject of the song. As the track fades out, the outro feels like an extended embrace and loving goodbye. In some of the final lyrics, Taylor sings:
“My heart lives in the southern part of Texas
Wear it on a necklace
Interstates are endless
I love you forever”
I am an Austin, TX based filmmaker and photographer. I moved from Houston to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where I graduated in 2022. I'm a lifelong music lover and spend most of my weekends attending shows. Some recent favorites are K. Flay, Devon Again, and Farmer's Wife. Other than that, I enjoy reading, writing, playing volleyball, yoga, and gaming.
