Neale Eckstein – Build Our Dreams (self-released, 2026)
Singer-songwriter Neale Eckstein’s Build Our Dreams, presents a series of character-driven stories based on personal memories, real-life events, and observations of everyday resilience.
Produced and mixed at Eckstein’s Fox Run Studio, we find stories of love, loss, remembrance, and renewal. Its captivating subjects include a family displaced by wildfire, a runaway boy guided home by strangers, a woman who reconnects with a long-abandoned passion, and a life partnership viewed through four decades of shared experiences. The project also features a rendition of Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” honoring a songwriter Eckstein met several times during his work as a photographer.
The album opens with “Always Been Older Than Me,” a reflective look at feeling out of step with one’s generation. Eckstein co-wrote the song with Dan Navarro during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, where Navarro performed it later the same day.
Next, “All the Little Things” celebrates 42 years of marriage through a collection of personal memories and everyday moments. Meanwhile, the title track, “Still We Build Our Dreams,” follows a family awaiting news after a devastating wildfire evacuation. Eckstein and Matt Watroba wrote the song in response to the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta (Canada), which destroyed more than 2,400 homes and ultimately burned over 1.5 million acres.
“Made It Through Bad Times Before” offers reassurance amid uncertainty, while “Empty Frame on a Wall” tells the story of a cleaning woman who rediscovers her love of painting.
Eckstein’s interpretation of “Help Me Make It Through the Night” features guest vocals from Sophie Buskin. In contrast, “I Just Want to Talk to You” focuses on a chance connection between two strangers that ends abruptly after a life-altering phone call.
Elsewhere, “Keep Christmas in Your Heart” recalls a family holiday disrupted by an accident before finding perspective through a child’s words. “Everyone Was Watching” revisits a formative high school dance and the confidence it inspired.
The final stretch of the album continues its focus on human connection. “If You Could See Me” follows two people separated by time and distance who finally reconnect, while “Mr. Ashe” closes the collection with the story of a grieving father who dedicates his life to helping runaway children find their way home.
Musicians: Neale Eckstein on vocals, guitars, dobro, gryphon, organ, shaker; Bruno Migliari on bass; Jagoda on drums, bells; Pedro Silveira on electric guitar, mandolin; Steve Lewis on pedal steel; Eric Schwartz on organ, piano, bass; André Vasconcellos on bass; Bruno Werner on drums; Nikos Mavridis on violin, violins, viola; Ben Trigg — cello; Keris Choi on violins; Rene Pfister on violins, piano; Josué González on piano; Sophie Buskin on harmonies; Matt Nakoa on electric guitars; Chris Powers on drums, percussion; Eckstein Family Choir — choir vocals (carolers).
Buy Build Our Dreams.
Author: Ryan Emmert
