Falling so hard into the pop rock category they’re tripping over themselves to grab the crowning title, Dreamers are a New York based band whose reputation as rule breakers precedes them. Over the past few years, the trio have made valiant attempts to break the sound cycle of white, male-led indie, despite falling into the category themselves. Shining a light on what could be, their self-titled EP boasted solid melodies and intelligent, wry lyrics that proved a rare exception to the rule. Unfortunately, on their debut album This Album Does Not Exist, Dreamers seem to have come full circle.
Take the exacerbating lyrics of “It’s Never Too Late to Dance.” The boot stomping, shout-y chorus instantly recalls boys out on the town, cat calling at anything that moves while throwing beer jugs at old ladies and tormenting the local cat. The theme of drinking, fucking, fucking up and having a hangover repeatedly recurs throughout This Album Does Not Exist, presumably for lack of better subject matter. Worst of all, “Lazy Dog” typecasts women as groupie-esque girlfriends before using the kind of terminology last seen catapulting Kid Rock to fame. Overall: ew.
When Dreamers revise their notes and go back to ground zero, great things can happen. Approaching personal blunders with a tongue-in-cheek twist: on “Sweet Disaster,” they manipulate clever lyrics to poke fun at themselves and the scene they occupy, while on opening track “DRUGS”—a song about “doing it for the drugs” rather than “doing it for the love”—they cheekily mutter that they “don’t want to think for ourselves, we’re just millennials.” But while these songs deserve attention individually, they do not redeem the entire album.
Most frustrating of all is Dreamers’ ability to write a really great melody. Because don’t get us wrong, This Album Does Not Exist is packed full of them. With the exception of some dodgy (and, given front man Nick Wold’s impressive range, totally unnecessary) shouting, the composition of the album is sharp enough to fear. Make no doubt about it, Dreamers are capable of great things, this just isn’t one of them.