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Oct 09, 2025 By Caleb Campbell

Tomorrow, dream folk singer/songwriter Kramies is set to share his new album, Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour, his first release since his 2022 self-titled record. Kramies’ music has always had a chimeric, otherworldly sheen to it, an element he leans even further into with his latest record. He’s coined the album as “Folklore Dreampop,” a fusion of misty dream pop textures with nostalgic storybook sensibilities. Earlier this year, he shared his new singles, “Hollywood Signs” and “Perfectly Dreadful,” and today, ahead of the album’s release, Kramies is sharing the record’s title track, premiering with Under the Radar.

“Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour” acts as the album’s free-floating centerpiece, a work that feels grand and fantastical in its presentation, but achingly melancholic in its underlying tone. The central chord progression and melody line are relatively simple and sparse, but Kramies adorns his lilting vocals with layers of effects and lush instrumentation. The subtle echoes and twinkling keys quickly make way for ascendant layers of drums, synths, and horns, turning the gently lilting track into a work of symphonic drama.

Similarly, the lyrics ride the line between plaintive confessional and playful mythmaking, with Kramies singing of the titular dreampop troubadour struggling to say goodbye to the stage: “Goodbye dreampop troubadour / Passed out backstage on the floor / His band carried him to the stage door / Where the crowd still adored his songs and sang along and loved his laughter / And thanked him after the show / He couldn’t say goodbye.”

Kramies says of the track, “I have no idea where or how ‘Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour’ first made its way into my consciousness. I can’t tell if brought that song to life or if the damn song brought life back to me. It’s one of those sparks that came from nowhere and everywhere, and now, it’s the centerpiece of this entire album. I can’t even recall the moment I created it, yet it feels like it’s always been there, waiting.

The song’s both semi-autobiographical and almost mythical caricature. It falls into that whole folklore dreampop thing I’ve become known for, but it’s personal and a freaking mess in my favorite way. From the guitar tuning (which, as usual, I made up on the spot and can’t remember) to the absolute simplicity of random layers I did. ‘Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour’ pieces itself together as it falls apart.

Of all the songs that have ever came through me, this one stands in my top three. When I listen, it never feels sad. In fact, every time I listen back, it fills me with this strange happiness, a freedom. It’s like the mess was meant to be this way. It’s my way of letting go. It’s a piece of me, but it’s also something else entirely—something free.”

Check out the song below. Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour is out everywhere tomorrow, October 10th.