Remember that first elementary school crush that made you quiver with simultaneous excitement and fear? Love barely seemed to define it. That juvenile amatory sensation went beyond anything you’d ever dreamed was possible. Those early years of relational purity are such an amazing phenomenon that grown adults like Cass McCombs are still forced to let a smirk loose in sentimental euphoria. McCombs captures the limitations of the young affectionate dream in “Dreams Come True Girl” as he describes a mental daze materializing into an unbelievable existence. The Californian artist abandons the possibility that his significant other could be a dream, because dreams are nothing more than mental illusions. Then again, the probability that such perfect situation could ever unfold into reality is preposterous according to McCombs. The only logical explanation to his unfathomable childhood connection is that all his dreams have come true. Whether such a mindset is naive, touching, or both, it’s tough not to admire McComb’s imagination.

The teenage target market may blench at the appearance of a chronologically lost Karen Black, but she does well to mirror McCombs’ optimistically inquisitive manner nonetheless. The one-time actress and Broadway star takes her time to enter the song and, like McCombs, slowly waltzes through her lines as if to extend the surreal experience as long as possible. Her unfortunate death in 2013 at the age of 74 was not forgotten by McCombs, as he honored their artistic partnership and her lifetime legacy with his 2014 song and video “Brighter!” in which Black’s recorded vocals took the lead for one final time. For a woman so obsessed with dreams, she sure had an illustrious reality.