Aftergloom
Don't Wake the Dreamer Pt. I

dreamcore / lucid dream / musical / poprock / weirdcore / melodic pop / concept album / lofi

Have you ever felt homesick for a home that no longer exists? Nostalgic for a dream you think you might have had when you were a kid?

This is the first part of a three-part concept album/musical drawing heavily from online aesthetics, such as dreamcore, weirdcore, nostalgiacore, and more. I tried to blend those sounds with a more grounded retro singer/songwriter type of vibe. It may not make sense at first as the album starts out sounding relatively normal, but the deeper you go, the stranger and dreamier it sounds.

The project tells the story of a girl avoiding the grieving process by reliving memories in her lucid dreams. The adventure follows a young woman who is mourning the loss of a parent. Instead of moving on, she manifests her deceased parent in her dreams, unwittingly bringing to life a brand new being who realizes it needs the dreamer even more than she needs her dream. This dream-parent tries to keep her sleeping for extended periods of time. What follows is a series dreams that ultimately changes the course of the young woman’s life forever.

The core themes of nostalgia and mourning will really resonate with anyone who has lost a parent, especially at a young age. You might be interested even if you just feel like the world you grew up in no longer exists.

"It's so different than anything I've done previously." When asked about the project, Brunacini said, "I decided to release it under the new name "Aftergloom" to avoid confusion with my main body of work. Think of it as an extension of my melodic pop, adding more electronic and atmospheric sounds into the mix."

"Don't wake the Dreamer is a culmination of everything I've learned about music and life so far. It's an album about loss and the grieving process, it's an album about dreams and liminality, it's an album heavily influenced by Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone (see how many references you can find!) and it's ultimately the most personal album I've ever put out there. It was extremely cathartic, almost therapeutic to write. I put it all in there and I couldn't be happier with the result. I hope you give it a shot and that it moves you!"