Review Summary: flavorful screamo that didn't have enough time to develop
“I Have Dreams was more than a band, it was an attempt to cope with the pain everyone was feeling after Daniel’s death” – Mike Peters
I Have Dreams was formed when Daniel, the guitar player of their pervious band, New Ethic, tragically died in a car accident. To some, the story of this 5-piece Tallahassee-based screamo band is gimmicky, and others, it’s genuine and heartfelt. Regardless, I Have Dreams made an impact on the Florida hardcore scene with their interesting blend of screamo, grind, powerviolence, and metalcore. Although I Have Dreams was only together for 6 months, the band released to solid EPs that both showcased their unique sound. However, it is their sophomore release, Three Days til’ Christmas, which exhibits a more mature (or, at least, as mature as a band can get in 3 months) and cohesive sound.
Despite Three Days til’ Christmas’s almost annoyingly lo-fi quality (at times, it sounds as if they recorded the symbols 30 ft away from the mic), the EP is a pleasure to listen to from start-to-finish. The fun of I Have Dreams is that they cram so much influence into one sound. Songs will start off with battling low and high-pitched screams, coupled with fast and chaotic instrumentation, but then abruptly shift to jangly chords and an emotionally driven, sung melody. Although their diversity is admirable and keeps you interested, it seems that they try to cram too much into 4 minutes. For example, it seems that every song has to have a metalcore-esque breakdown, despite it being completely unnecessary and virtually sounding the same through every song.
Another problem that I have with the EP, although it is easily missed, is the lack of solid lyrical content. However, being a screamo band, I didn’t expect too much. The lyrics often do not rhyme and can stand alone as a paragraph form, which is completely cool and fine; however, their attempts to be emotional and confessional come off as forced and desperate. Granted, I never expect too much out of old screamo band lyrics.
Three Days til Christmas shows an interesting take on a sound that was becoming obsolete within the hardcore community. If I Have Dreams had existed for longer than 6 months, then I might have been able to write a review for a real screamo classic.
