Echosmith fans are finally rejoicing at the drop of their latest EP Inside a Dream. The long-awaited EP dropped September 29, four years after their last album Talking Dreams. The seven-song sophomore album, created without member Jamie Sierota, takes the listener on a journey through learning to love, fear and acceptance of growing up, desperation to feel inspired and empathy for the world.

The first song, “Lessons” is the epitome of Echosmith’s sound with lead singer Sydney Sierota crooning on the snappy psychedelic opener. It references several iconic 80s love songs such as “Every Breath You Take” by the Police and “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics. Between “Lessons” and “Get Out of My Car,” they express the need for people to stop looking for the overly sugarcoated love in movies and songs and just spend time with people and truly understand them.

The next song “18” sounds like a bop that you would hear at the end of an 80’s romance such as Pretty in Pink. Echosmith has frequently been inspired by 80s music and in this album it is a common theme to feel like a character in the Breakfast Club. This song is the embodiment of that idea, expressing the fear of hitting the golden year of 18 and the expectation to evolve into the perfect adult.

“Goodbye” is where this album takes an interesting turn. Despite keeping up its positive appearances with its upbeat tempo and wispiness, its lyrics expose its true significance. “To be honest, we were really upset with someone when we wrote this song.” said Sierota. In this song, the band wishes for someone to find themselves and,once they do, they wish them adue because they want nothing to do with them. Whoever this song was about definitely brought out a different side to the album.

After “Goodbye,” we follow into “Hungry” and the slow ballad “Dear World,” a perfect finish to an album full of wise words. In this acoustic and surprisingly one-take song, Echosmith wishes that the painful world we live in keeps its hope alive for better days. “Dear World” could not be more fitting in a time where there are natural disasters, mass shootings, and lack of action being done in both cases. It is a call for their audience to love one another and keep faith in humanity.

Overall, the album was well done in regards to its message, but not quite in variety. In an effort to have an album that blended seamlessly, Echosmith ran into the problem of many of the songs sounding almost the same. If you want to give it a second chance, you can catch Echosmith on their U.S. tour starting Oct. 14 with Banner. If not, this album has its teachable moments and should definitely be added to your fall playlist.