I was wandering around Borders a couple of weeks ago in a really bad mood, searching for an album that I could just curl up in bed and listen to. Dreaming Through the Noise was set up at one of the listening stations, so I thought I’d give it a try. I listened to a couple of verses from every track and liked what I was hearing. Everything was mid-tempo, she sings with a kind of quiet intensity. And I adored the lyrics…

Blue Caravan: “He said go where you have to/for I belong to you/until my dying day/so like a fool, blue caravan/I believed him and I walked away”

Love turns 40: “She sees herself rising/Packing a suitcase with all her shoes/But something keeps you faithful/When all else in you turns and runs/Love turns forty”

1Br/1Ba: “My upstairs neighbors are making sounds that I never want to hear/I hope they’re just moving furniture around/And really liking their ideas”

When I got home and listened to it more closely, I found that a lot of the songs weren’t what I thought they were. First of all, “Whatever You Want” has to be the only song about corporate accounting scandals ever written. (“He knows every loophole, the art of fine print/Massages the numbers until they fit”)

Another track on the CD, “City Hall,” took a few listens before I realized it’s about gay marriage. (“Ten years waitin’ for this moment of fate/When we say the words and sign our name/If they take it away again some day/This beautiful thing won’t change”) I wouldn’t really call it an “issue song” though. It doesn’t really take a position on the issue. It’s just a story. The “message” definitely doesn’t hit you in the face.

However, when I tried to share my enthusiasm for this album with one of my friends, she could only get halfway through before she turned it off. “It sounds like elevator music,” was her main complaint. I suppose I can see where she’s coming from. There aren’t any up-tempo songs, there’s a lot of orchestration, and there’s never any over-the-top vocalization. But that’s the exact reason I enjoy this album. It’s something quiet, something to listen to in bed with a cup of tea. It’s pensive music. If it were any different, it would probably be harder to pay attention to the lyrics – and they’re really amazing lyrics.

I suggest listening to a few songs before you buy it. Maybe it won’t be up your alley, but if you’re into female singer-songwriters (Tori Amos comes to mind.) you will probably enjoy this.