Amateur Recommendation Hour: Dreams Never End

Today’s recommendation comes way of my my favorite Japanese band and is continuing along the lines of positive uplifting works instead of the usual poignant, philosophical, and thought provoking I usually share. I think now is as good a time as ever to share art that makes us feel fully hopeful even if just for a small moment in our lives. On a personal note, my emotional health has been in a difficult place over the past few weeks and I really needed to hear myself talk about better things.

Dreams Never End, by Japanese pop-punk band Dizzy Sunfist, will bring you back to the 2000s in the best possible ways and will make you feel satisfied in every possible way that you decided to take the trip to go back in time. Their quirkier and happy-go-lucky attitude towards not only their music but their lives as well is a refreshing respite from modern society that tells us we are worthless and not allowed to ever enjoy a single moment.

The central themes of this work are emotional validation, encouragement, self love, and resilience. It never feels like they’re being manic or flat out ignoring the struggles of human life, they communicate their messages through turning negatives into positives. It’s hard not to believe the idea that the band are very satisfied where they are in their lives and careers. Leads me to believe central message of this work is viewing every setback as an opportunity to grow and take the silver linings of the frustrating and hopeless as knowledge to be gained but conveyed in a very balanced fashion.

For me personally, the most effective works of art are those that are willing to go to dark places but ultimately are still able to derive hope from all of this negativity on display. So it goes without saying that this album holds a special place for me. If you are a fan of 2000s pop-punk it goes without saying that you should absolutely give this a listen.