The debut album from
The Favors – the duo project of FINNEAS and Ashe – is as theatrical, tender and quietly devastating as you’d hope. '
The Dream' is packed with rich harmonies, playful detours, and songwriting that balances depth with just the right amount of daft.
It opens with the flickering '
Restless Little Heart', a gentle curtain-raiser for what unfolds into a warm, melodic character study. The title-track is full of smirking self-deprecation (“Hard not to feel pathetic, maxing out your credit”), and that contrast between lightness and lyrical bite carries through the entire record.
'Little Mess' is gorgeously off-kilter – silly, a bit sad, but weirdly uplifting – while '
Moonshine' brings in a kind of soft-focus classicism, like falling in love in a dusty cinema. '
The Hudson' goes deeper, all emotional rubble and regret: “All I’ve ever known is gone.” There’s no hiding from the feeling here.
The back half leans further into the melancholy. '
Necessary Evils' dances around existential dread with a wink. '
Lake George' is cinematic and slow-burning, steeped in loss. By the time you get to '
Someday I’ll Be Back in Hollywood', you’re wondering if this is all a love letter to making music, or a gentle goodbye to it.
