With that said, though, there are instrumental portions of "Start Stopping" that sound a little like The Who. (Okay, more like The Who-lite). But Who-ish, nonetheless. When describing themselves, American Dreamers mention names like Sufjan Stevens and Yo-Yo Ma. In other words, they're just a tad left of the dial.

At their best, exemplified by "Looking Glass," the group can sound like classic English folk, suggesting Nick Drake. There's also a bit of The Decemberists' preciousness running through these 11 songs.

Alabama once sang of how, if you want to play in Texas you need to have a fiddle in the band. American Dreamer stretches that Southwest-centric definition in the most peculiar and beautiful ways.