The Favors’ Dream Is Just Beginning
The Favors’ debut album, The Dream, marks the coming together of two of today’s sharpest singer-songwriters, Ashe and FINNEAS. Released through Darkroom Records on September 19, 2025, the album feels like an intimate confession wrapped in cinematic storytelling, blending heartbreak, humor, and ambition in equal measure. From the fleeting vulnerability of the opening track to the reflective warmth of the finale, The Dream immerses listeners in a world where geography, memory, and emotion intertwine.
The album opens with “Restless Little Heart”, a brief yet poignant introduction that sets the tone for the emotional landscapes to follow. Ashe and FINNEAS trade lines about the folly and thrill of love, the melody almost teasing the listener: “Your eyes are a mess I can’t clean up,” they might as well be saying. The track’s brevity - under a minute, feels intentional, like a passing thought or the flutter of a new connection.
In the title track, “The Dream”, the duo dives headfirst into the chaos of chasing success in Los Angeles. Lines like “You live in your car, but you say you’re in Hollywood / You sold your guitar just to pay for that video you sent to the studio” capture the absurdity and grind of ambition. The song teeters between biting satire and empathy, blending the absurd and the intimate, all while letting the duo’s playful studio banter sneak through the outro, grounding the chaos in human connection.
“Moonshine” stands out as one of the album’s tenderest moments, reflecting on enduring love against the backdrop of memory and fragility. Ashe’s promise, “I won’t let you go, even when you don’t remember me”, resonates like a whispered vow, supported by FINNEAS’s subtle harmonies. The track embodies warmth and intimacy, turning vulnerability into something luminous.
“The Little Mess You Made” introduced The Favors’ knack for capturing relational tension in all its messy beauty. The duo’s alternating lines mirror a heated argument: “Maybe second place is just the first to lose,” Ashe sings, capturing the frustration of love lost. By the chorus, their voices converge, but not in harmony, in accusation, in shared heartbreak. It’s biting, relatable, and utterly human.
“The Hudson” combines cinematic imagery with quiet devastation. The Favors sing of “bare trees, frozen lakes, and sunrises over the river,” a fragile metaphor for love that is gone but still cherished. Lines like “I’d catch a cold if it keeps you warm” cut through with tender honesty, turning the song into both a lament and a celebration of enduring connection.
On “Ordinary People” , the duo offer intimacy with subtle tension. Repeated lines like “If you miss me, come and kiss me” echo the vulnerability of those small, everyday moments that feel anything but ordinary. The track’s looseness, accented by studio laughter, makes it feel real, a candid peek behind the curtain of intimacy and self-doubt.
“Necessary Evils” lays bare the paradox of love: both salvational and destructive. Ashe’s plea, “Could avoid all the pain if we ripped the Band-Aid and break up,” contrasts with FINNEAS’s self-aware irony: “While I’m still in one piece, can we rip up the lease and move out?” The chorus reframes heartbreak as inevitable, an unflinching look at love’s dualities, while the bridge imagines a life without the relationship altogether.
“Times Square Jesus” captures the collision of devotion and futility. FINNEAS and Ashe play characters navigating unrequited longing: “I still pick up your mother from the airport / She says I should move on / You’re too much your father’s son.” The song wrestles with the tension between craving absolution and resisting closure, leaving a haunting yet humorous impression.
With “David’s Brother”, the Favors bring humor and relatability to heartbreak, anchored in real-life connections: “Saw you at the bar with David’s brother / I’m coming around again / It’s keeping me down like the bends.” The song balances irony and sincerity, a sharp observation of the cyclical nature of desire and regret.
“Lake George”, the album’s longest track, merges personal history and romantic loss. Ashe sings of trying to escape her lingering love: “I’d be just about anyone else tonight / Who’s not loving you.” FINNEAS adds the reflective lens of memory: “I’ve seen the place you were born,” grounding the heartbreak in geography and time. The result is cinematic, melancholic, and deeply human.
“Someday I’ll Be Back in Hollywood” introduces a new voice - drummer Marinelli takes lead, reflecting ambition, nostalgia, and defiance. “The band’s breaking up, and I can’t complain / Someday I’ll be back in Hollywood / And I’m gonna stay until someone makes me leave,” he sings, capturing the persistence and vulnerability of chasing dreams while facing personal and professional turbulence.
Finally, “Home Sweet Home” closes the album with intimate reflection. Ashe and FINNEAS capture the weight of memory in simple yet evocative lines: “And it all comes back, it all comes back to you.” From summer nights in New York to the quiet after friends leave, the track envelops the listener in nostalgia, love, and reflection, a perfect closing for an album steeped in intimacy, honesty, and storytelling.
The Dream is more than a debut, it’s a masterclass in pairing lyrical precision with emotional vulnerability. The Favors have created a world that feels lived-in, cinematic, and utterly human. Across heartbreak, ambition, and fleeting connection, The Dream proves that some of the most unforgettable stories are the ones closest to our hearts.
