It’s 2020 and I am sitting in my room, locked inside by the raging worldwide pandemic. Browsing YouTube, I stumble upon a faceless Minecraft YouTuber nicknamed “Dream,” whose Minecraft manhunting series quickly became my favorite.
It’s 2023 and I am sitting in my dorm room, bobbing my head and singing under my breath to the no longer faceless YouTuber’s first EP, “to whoever wants to hear.”
Though the album was released on Sept. 1, I haven’t been able to stop listening since my first playthrough. While it can be argued the EP sounds like any other pop album, it’s the power behind Dream’s lyrics that make me unable to tear myself away.
And listen, do not expect Shakespearean ballads to come out from under this man’s pen. He’s still a guy who makes his living by playing a blocky video game. It’s about the message Dream tries to get across, the message that is so painfully clear and strong it takes you aback.
“The overall theme of the EP is love, but not in a traditional sense that you would think,” Dream said in an interview with the Associated Press on Aug. 31. “Every song is about love, whether it’s about loving my family, or loving my life, or loving somebody.”
The opening track, “Slow Down,” is, an appropriate way to start off this EP. It’s upbeat, yet gentle melody almost creates an illusion of a comfort blanket over the slightly melancholic lyrics.
Dream noted that the song is “less about worrying about the future and more about understanding where you are and appreciating everything you have”.
I don’t like to think about the passage of time. I don’t like to dwell on the little moments that I didn’t enjoy enough, that have slipped through my fingers. That’s why I often steer clear of songs that focus on this sort of message. And yet I can’t stop listening to this track.
“I lay awake at night, feelin’ like I’m behind / I’ll blink a couple times and I’ll be twenty-five,” has to be the most relatable lyric I have heard in the past year. Who hasn’t felt like this at least once in their life?
“Kind of Love” is easily my favorite song from this EP. Released alongside an emotional music video featuring footage from Dream’s childhood, this song has made an impressive impact amongst his fans.
“I like making songs that can apply to more than one specific situation,” Dream explained to the AP against speculations from his fans about this track being a love song. “No one will understand your relationships, regardless if it’s with your family or your significant other. Everyone has a unique kind of love.”
I believed this to be a love song as well, and it indeed is one. Though just like Dream has said, it’s a different kind of love.
“To whoever wants to hear / Losing you is my biggest fear / Not sure how to speak about it” and “Even when you’re far away / Next to me is where you’ll stay / We have, we have a different kind of love” almost brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard them.
I am an only child and moving away from my family was a tough decision. Dream unknowingly captured the fear of losing a loved one that you barely see, in a beautiful love letter to his family.
That’s the main reason why I truly love this song. Love songs are so common and overplayed nowadays. Hearing a song that spills unconditional love from every lyric dedicated to family is like a breath of fresh air. A much needed breath.
Completely switching the tone, track three, and my second favorite — titled “Paranoid” — is an upbeat bop, once again camouflaging some heavier lyrics here and there.
“Drafted at 2 a.m., those texts I’ve never sent / ‘Cause now I kinda doubt it, that you’re my friend again / You’re not my friend again? / Oh wait, you’ve never been / They don’t need evidence, isn’t it evident?”
At first glance, this song seems to be talking about friendship, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
As Dream revealed, the word friend is used rather sarcastically in this scenario. I would dive into how deeply I connected with these lyrics and how hardly they resonated, but I think I’m going to let Dream do the talking.
“For me, ever since my past relationships, anytime I talk to somebody where I could start falling for them, I’m overwhelmed with this sense of paranoia,” Dream told the AP. “I’ve had the problem of distancing myself because ‘Oh god, what’s gonna happen?’ I’m giving my heart to somebody and you don’t know what they’re gonna do with it.”
I could go systematically word by word through every song and break down the meaning behind it along with every emotion it stirred up in me, but we would be here for a month at least.
So let me just quickly skip over “Spotlight,” “Everest” and “Invincible” — which feels short of a crime to me — to give “Until I End up Dead” an honorary mention.
The first track to be released came with a music video dedicated to Dream’s fellow content creator — Technoblade — who sadly passed away from cancer last year. This song tore open the hearts of everyone who ever watched the two of them.
“It’s a very positive spin on death,” Dream said. “Technoblade was very, very sarcastic, so I took that sarcasm and ran with it.”
I don’t think Dream could’ve chosen a better way to fully start his music career than this EP. It’s authentic, raw and simple. It’s a heart laid out bare, and isn’t that the most beautiful thing?
