I Have Dreams — Three Days 'Til Christmas

I'm not gonna lie, this is screamo. Normally I would never put this kind of thing up; I've always had this gut feeling that screamo is inherently a shit genre. But I guess this proves me wrong, I Have Dreams is… good. Really good. I think what usually puts me off is the overproduced bullshit that typically makes the rounds as screamo; the empty lyrics, stupid haircuts, the emphasis on being "brutal" and sexualized over having any meaningful content.

This is different. It still has the genre signatures, switching between dissonant hard parts and lighter distortionless singing. But this is a cheap recording probably done in someone's basement, the guitar work is intelligent, and the lyrics are actually pretty deep. Not in the weird Jesus-y way most other Florida bands try to be either. Plus it sounds like they're having fun (you know, in addition to the sadness…), and getting real into it. These are some emotionally charged jams, but definitely worth checking out. 'In Good Hands' is an absolute killer track too.

I Have Dreams — The Days 'Til Christmas EP

Track Listing:

1. Three Days 'Til Christmas
2. Countless Rooftops
3. In Good Hands
4. I Don't Imagine You And I Anymore
5. Thank You For Having The Courage To Help A Friend Change His Life For The Better

Lyrics:

From Last.fm: I Have Dreams was a screamo/emo band born from the ashes of a band called New Ethic, when their guitar player Daniel died in a car accident. New Ethic played their last show in August, 1998 with Daniel’s best friend Mike Hanson in his place, and it was about a month or two later that I Have Dreams started playing. The band consisted of Allen Compton and Mike Peters on vocals, Mike Hanson on guitar, Ben Seals on bass and Clayton Rychlick on drums. I Have Dreams were more than a band - in the words of Mike Peters: “It was an attempt to cope with the pain everyone was feeling after Daniel’s death.” I Have Dreams were together for roughly six months, and they broke up in the Spring (around April/May) of 1999.