When I listen to ‘Hopes and Dreams’ the first question that comes to mind is ‘do we need another band that sounds like this?’ Mayday Parade, Boys Like Girls… it’s a trend that is very successful and very popular and has led to a number of soundalike bands doing similar things. Faster faster are not a bad band, far from it, but this is a little obvious and uninspiring. ‘Fairytales and Lies’, ‘…and Always’ and ‘Backstabbing Never Seemed So Friendly’ all have catchy choruses and singalong hooks but none standout in the same way the more famous bands do. That’s not to say you won’t enjoy this record in short bursts because I did – ‘Drawn To You Sweetheart’ is a fantastic start to the record after all. This is good but not great – like a chocolate bar it will give you a short term fix but nothing that will last all that long.
