Enchanting, folkloric, and unmistakably Kramies, ‘Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour’ is both a reckoning and a release – a lush, otherworldly odyssey through self-doubt, renewal, and the quiet beauty of letting go. Premiering his latest album with Atwood Magazine, Kramies reflects on transformation, creative rebirth, ghosts and memory, homecomings and heartbreak, and the strange, sacred process of finding yourself again in the art that almost broke you.
Stream: ‘Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour’ – Kramies
“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.”
It’s an image equal parts tragic and tender – the kind of myth that could only belong to Kramies Windt. What begins like the closing scene of a fairytale is, in truth, a rebirth. “Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour” isn’t just an album title – it’s a self-eulogy, a shedding of skin, a wave to the man Kramies once was. With it, he lays his myth to rest and steps, unflinching, into the next chapter of his dream.
From the moment it begins, Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour feels like drifting through a lucid dream – wistful, spectral, and breathtakingly human. Kramies’ voice hangs in the ether like smoke, his melodies weaving between the lines of memory and myth. The album aches inside and out: It’s evocative, emotive, and raw, yet polished and poised in its delivery. The Ohio-based singer/songwriter creates seductive sonic worlds – dark and melodic, folkloric and otherworldly – that feel singular to him, a trademark blend of melancholy and magic that’s both timeless and tender, intimate and enchanting.
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour, the Kramies’ soul-stirring new album, out October 17th, 2025. Three years after his self-titled LP earned international acclaim (and saw Billboard crown him “The Dreampop Troubadour”), Kramies returns not to chase that success, but to release its ghost. This record, his most intimate and intentional to date, was born from exhaustion, disillusionment, and the slow rediscovery of purpose.
“This was the album I had to release,” he tells Atwood Magazine. “It was holding me back in the worst ways. I found myself struggling after the success of my 2022 album. Up until that album, I was bursting with creativity and releasing music nonstop for nine years straight. It took everything out of me.”
“I had to piece this album together from loose ends and broken pieces of songs. I felt like I’ve been creatively dying, and it was affecting my health and my relationships. I started seeing through so much of this world’s fakeness – in people, and all the masks people wear, and all the stupid social media/popularity stuff. Everyone and everything just seemed superficial, like an endless illusion.”
That disillusionment became the seed of renewal. Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour was written not in comfort, but in confrontation – the sound of an artist dismantling his own myth to find the human underneath.
“It was hard to write anything,” he recalls. “I had to almost step outside of myself for the first time. I decided to try to destroy everything and make a record that killed the image I had rotating in my head. But I only made it stronger. And when the album was done, I recently realized that I wasn’t dying – I’ve been going through a huge shift and some sort of growth that was helping me shed unnecessary attachments.”
Kramies’ 2022 self-titled album marked a creative summit – a deeply intimate and ethereal collection that earned critical acclaim and cemented his reputation as one of dream-folk’s most singular voices. Atwood Magazine hailed Kramies as “a lush, raw, and ethereal dream-folk triumph… at once soothing, stirring, and unsettling – the stuff of folklore and fantasy with a deeply human core.” That record’s introspective glow and mythic storytelling would become the foundation upon which his next chapter was built.
If his self-titled record was about transformation through creation, Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour is about transformation through surrender.
Moving back to his home state of Ohio, Kramies worked with longtime collaborators Chris Keffer, Mario J. McNulty, and a close circle of friends to craft a sound that feels vast yet deeply personal – the work of someone reckoning with himself in real time.
“I moved back to my home state, very near my hometown, and made this record – and it was one of the best parts of this journey,” he explains. “Now that it’s out, I have a huge surge of energy for what’s coming next, and I feel very much like I’m floating again.”
“Perfectly Dreadful,” the album’s opening track, sets the tone immediately – spine-chilling, reverb-drenched, and cinematic. A dark yet delicate prelude, it feels like watching a storm roll in slow motion: Hypnotic, tender, and tempered. From there, “Social Light” burns with renewal as Kramies finds his footing again. Premiered on Atwood Magazine last year, the song stands as what we once called “an enchanting inner reckoning full of warmth, weight, and wonder” – a self-reminder to, in his own words, “get out of my own way” and reclaim his creative light. A sense of release and relief wash over him as “Social Light” transforms from its dark folklorish starting point, to greener, freer, and more cathartic pastures. “Did you hear my name come through the radio? Breaking up the airwaves, on and on I go…” Kramies sings repeatedly at the end, back in the saddle once more. Later on, “Hollywood Signs” explodes into technicolor – a psychedelic, warbly wonderland of soft and cinematic sound. Its lyrics tumble between nostalgia and numbness: “Scoring our drugs on the subways in New York, fighting through London and drinking the nights hard…”
“These songs are magical,” Kramies shares. “I have no clue where they come from or why, but I can feel them as they make their way out of my head and into my hands. I’m surrounded by something outside of myself when these songs come. Ghosts, spirits – who knows – but it just melts into place with songs like those.”
At the heart of it all lies “Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour.” the record’s six-minute emotional centerpiece and thesis, where fantasy and finality intertwine in a sweeping, spellbinding farewell.
The title track swells like a curtain call, at once grand and humbling, surreal and sincere. Under the Radar called it “the album’s free-floating centerpiece… work that feels grand and fantastical in its presentation, but achingly melancholic in its underlying tone.”
Kramies himself describes it best: “The one song that sums up the ‘in-between’ space between the last album and this one is ‘Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour’… [It’s a] beautifully frosted cake that I baked for myself – to help uplift myself when I’m looking down for too long, if that makes any sense.” It makes perfect sense. The album thrives in that in-between space – between darkness and light, illusion and truth, myth and man.
By the time we reach “Between the Moon,” Kramies has crossed over to something serene. His final lines hum like an incantation, the sound of closure turning into new beginnings.
“Believe it or not, every song on this album has a positive ending,” he remarks. “And the very last song, ‘Between the Moon,’ which has been redone and remixed from a past version, (if you listen closely) ends magically with me humming and walking through a door, which is a perfect beginning to my next album.”
That sense of continuation pulses through the record – a reminder that even farewells can glow with possibility. Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour is an album to disappear into, each song unfolding like a half-remembered dream. Kramies’ captivating, colorful melodies shimmer and drift, wrapped in layers of warmth and shadow, tenderness and tension. Listening feels like wandering through fog toward light – haunting, cinematic, and strangely comforting, even in its darkest corners.
“This won’t be the album that hits charts or ‘Album of the Year’ lists like the last one,” he says. “It’s the album that releases me into a clear and clean slate after doing this on a professional level since 2014.” And yet, that freedom – that unburdening – might be the most powerful success of all.
“I’m just grateful this album finally came out… If it wasn’t for my friends and the team of creative humans who helped me get through this one without damaging too much of myself, this one would never have made it, and I’d still be stuck and getting in my own way… And I’m grateful that Mario J. McNulty came into the picture, and that I got to do things in my hometown of Cleveland after being away so long, and that my talented friends Chris Keffer, John Panza, David Goodheim, David Paolucci, Derek Lee LaJoie, Allison Lorenzen, and artist Guillaume Mazel could all be involved.”
In the end, Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour feels less like an ending than an awakening. There’s clarity in its chaos, hope in its heartbreak.
It also holds deep, profound personal meaning for Kramies, which you can hear in every fragile chord and whisper of warm reverb.
“Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour makes sense now to me,” he smiles. “It’s a bit autobiographical and a bit charming character. This album is all the loose ends, all the songs I’d left behind from the past, all the things I’ve had to shed, and all the attachments I’ve recently let go of in order to move forward freely.”
“It’s a personal transformation diary. I realize now that this unique life that I was given has a role to play. I have a role in this world – and now, after these three years of change, I can move forward without fear of discomfort, disappointment, or death of my creative self.”
This record feels like the closing of one book and the quiet opening of another – a moment of clarity, purpose, and unguarded peace.. “I already have a mini follow-up EP I recorded live at Wilco’s studio in Chicago called The Loft. I signed a few new contracts, and I’ve already started writing for them. It’s going to be nonstop through 2026. I’m onto the next adventure – and just wait until you hear what I’m dreaming up now.”
This album doesn’t just wash over you – it will haunt the ears and heal the soul in equal measure. Stream Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and dive even deeper into Kramies’ latest album in our interview below, as the dreampop troubadour opens up about transformation, ghosts, homecomings, and saying goodbye to your own illusions.
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:: stream/purchase Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour here ::
:: connect with Kramies here ::
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Stream: ‘Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour’ – Kramies
A CONVERSATION WITH KRAMIES
Atwood Magazine: Kramies, what was your vision going into this record – and did that change over the course of recording it?
Kramies: I was at a loss with this album. I knew it was time, and I knew I had to release a bunch of loose ends and lost bits of songs. This was the album I had to release – it was holding me back in the worst ways. I found myself struggling after the success of my 2022 album. Up until that point, I was bursting with creativity and releasing music nonstop for nine years straight. It took everything out of me
I had to piece this album together from loose ends and broken pieces of songs. I felt like I’d been creatively dying, and it was affecting my health and my relationships. I started seeing through so much of this world’s fakeness – in people, in the masks everyone wears, and all the stupid social media/popularity stuff. Everything just seemed superficial, like an endless illusion. So it was hard to write anything. I had to almost step outside of myself for the first time.
Then it changed. I started to see the story and understand. So I decided to try to destroy everything and make a record that killed the image I had rotating in my head. But I only made it stronger. And when the album was done, I recently realized that I wasn’t dying or losing my mind – I’ve been going through a huge shift and some sort of growth that’s helping me shed unnecessary attachments.
I moved back to my home state, very near my hometown, and made this record – and it was one of the best parts of this journey. Now that it’s out, I have a huge surge of energy for what’s coming next, and I feel very much like I’m floating again. Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour makes sense to me now. It’s a bit autobiographical and a bit a charming character. The vision was unclear. It was more of a force of nature.
Why the title “Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour”
Kramies: I think it’s my way of shedding light on all I’ve created, removing myself from it, and moving forward into a clean slate. Back in 2018, I got coined “The Dreampop Troubadour” – and it stuck. What a great thing it is to be given a name in this business.
So in my weird head, I tried to change it and say farewell. [laughs] But I only made it stronger. And now I’m fully taking on the role, especially with the song “Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour.”
How do you feel Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour reintroduces you and captures your artistry, especially compared to your self-titled LP and everything else that's come before?
Kramies: I’ve grown the reputation of creating dark folklore and fairytale stories – which I absolutely love. It’s my own genre, my own world, in this crazy business. I feel this album is definitely along the same path, but a bit darker and lighter. I think this album is the height of all those past releases. It’s such a huge combination of hi-fi and lo-fi, of happy endings in sad-sounding songs, and a strong sense of identity – and the feeling of moving onward in whichever direction that is, eastbound or westward. But the difference is, these songs were all written over different times, different moments, across years of my career. So there’s a magical binding – a thread in there that brings my beginnings through to my current sound.
You've teased the album thus far with singles “Hollywood Signs” and “Perfectly Dreadful.” Why these songs, and how, for you, do they set the scene for what's to come on this full album?
Kramies: First, both those songs are magical. I have no clue where they come from or why, but I can feel them as they make their way out of my head and into my hands. As you know, I’ve been doing this for years – and I can just tell. I’m surrounded by something outside of myself when these songs come. Ghosts, spirits – who knows – but it just melts into place with songs like those.
Do you have any definitive favorites or personal highlights off this record?
Kramies: First, working with producer Mario J. McNulty (Bowie) is definitely a huge highlight – and it shows on this album. Also, moving back to my hometown area after years of being away to make this album, and being able to work with my friends Chris Keffer, David Goodheim, John Panza, Allison Lorenzen, and David Paolucci – I couldn’t have made it through without everyone.
I also have to say that on this album, I played about 90% of everything. So there’s a lot of myself, and a lot of light in here. My favorite secret song is the title track, “Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour.” It still makes me feel so happy and free feeling. Like driving in a rainy autumn dusk ready for anything new.
As a lyrically forward artist, do you have any favorite lyrics in these songs?
Kramies: I love that you called me a lyrically forward artist! That’s now my favorite review of the year. I’ve said this in the past, but I’ve always seen myself more as a book writer than a song craftsman – so that means a lot. All the songs are strong lyrically, but “Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour” and “Hollywood Signs” are my favorites so far.
Can you describe this record in three words?
Kramies: Forever Love Again
What do you hope listeners take away from Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour? What have you taken away from creating it and now putting it out?
Kramies: This album is all the loose ends, all the songs I’d left behind from the past, all the things I’ve had to shed, and all the attachments I’ve recently let go of in order to move forward freely.
It’s a personal transformation diary. I realize now that this unique life I was given has a role to play. I have a role in this world – and now, after these three years of change, I can move forward without fear of discomfort, disappointment, or death of my creative self.
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:: stream/purchase Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour here ::
:: connect with Kramies here ::
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Stream: ‘Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour’ – Kramies
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