Einstein’s Dreams

The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Eric Heveron-Smith, Einstein’s Dreams blends chamber folk textures with transcendent jazz improvisation. Weaving Alan Watts references into stories about migratory birds, Heveron-Smith’s voice soars as he alternates between soulful bass lines and shimmery, fingerpicked chords on his six string bass. 

In 2025, Einstein’s Dreams released their debut album Flight Manifest (funded in part by a grant from the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts). The album plays with themes of space travel, birds, and transcendence, acting as a launch pad for flocks of woodwinds, stacks of brass, and entire landscapes full of stringed instruments. Alongside Heveron-Smith and his usual live collaborators are special guests like hammered dulcimer player Max ZT (House of Waters), and conga player Tony Padilla (Mambo Kings), bringing worldwide flavors to this batch of songs and instrumentals.

…“Mount Aerie” typifies the group’s specialties: chamber-pop swells in the vein of early Sufjan Stevens, a naturalistic and perhaps even pantheistic point of view and music that presents as easy listening but reveals hidden depths. Indeed, the band calls its genre “environmental indie folk.” …The cumulative effect is palpable and striking — “Flight Manifest” is a highly considered document that remembers to have some fun in the arrangements. …The looser moments, like on the exploratory “Don’t Go to Mars” and the breezy “Crane Song,” make an exceedingly pleasant listen. Heveron-Smith’s voice is smooth and gentle, pairing nicely with flugelhorn and yacht-friendly percussion. “Crane Song” could fit snugly on Nick Drake’s “Bryter Layter.” …There’s anticipation and stillness and perhaps even trepidation. But the wonder overwhelms.

-Patrick Hosken, City Magazine, 11/18/25
https://www.roccitymag.com/music/review-flight-manifest-by-einsteins-dreams/

“It’s OK to Fall” is an ambitious, self-contained indie pop song that uses several popular chamber-folk tells — Andrew Bird’s plucked-string sound and the breezy folk-pop aesthetic of the Scandinavian duo Kings of Convenience during the pre-chorus and chorus, and the easy, conversational vocal tone of José González throughout.

…The term multi-instrumentalist gets thrown around a lot these days, but Heveron-Smith earns it here. He plays both the trombone and tuba in addition to singing, strumming the guitar and ukulele, thumping the upright bass, and chiming in on the aforementioned glockenspiel. Despite the full-band sound, drummer Dave Tedeschi, of Postmodern Jukebox, is the only other musician besides Heveron-Smith and Max ZT, who fronts the trio House of Waters. Heveron-Smith also recorded, mixed, and mastered the song.

-City Magazine, 1/18/23
https://www.roccitynews.com/music/einsteins-dreams-soars-on-single-its-ok-to-fall-music-review-15636002