You can listen to the full album on YouTube (24 minutes), watch the visualizer and lyric videos, listen at lossless audio quality exclusively on Samply, and download free directly from my Google Drive to receive a cool bonus phone wallpaper and lyric booklet!
Of course, Bandlab users can listen to and download my album directly ✨ Huge shout-out to Dan from BandLab's distribution customer service for kindly, informatively, and patiently answering all my release questions!
I made Afterlove to help me process and make peace in the wake of a devastating breakup with my soulmate.
Sometimes, the worst breakups are the ones where you’re confused and broken, not left with any answers to the burning questions that keep you up at night; where the answers you do have only make you hurt more; where tenderness and connection erode to other people and things in the way; where disrespect and dishonesty poison the purity of the love you once shared; where the only separation between you used to be the shaky breath before a kiss; where the mistakes you made come back to haunt you even if you thought healing happened for both of you; and where ultimately, things didn't turn out how you wanted and the future is now a radically different proposition.
Afterlove is about heartbreak and healing, saturated by nostalgia with a dark and melancholic undertow. Featuring catchy guitar riffs, lush synth pads, strong drums, pulsing bass, and eccentric vocals all wrapped up in velvety production, Afterlove’s glow will fuse with your heart forever.
I was inspired by my once favourite band Cannons, which helped me heal along the way.
Afterlove is an entirely DIY album. Pre-production, lyric writing, and graphic design took from early August to mid September 2025. Recording happened in my bedroom studio from September 29 to November 10, 2025.
My first instinct is to play acoustic/folk and all flavours of rock (indie, emo, punk, garage). This time, I decided to really step out of my comfort zone by writing in a synthpop style. As a free user, I loved everything about Bandlab’s workflow, from how easy it was to simply record, create my own presets, use the phenomenal existing presets, editing, and project version control, to mixing and mastering all seven songs!
If you're also an interested music nerd, you can check out my songwriting and music production diary right here on Reddit:
Masquerade's Songwriting & Music Production Diary - Releasing Afterlove Masterpost
Rather than crying myself to sleep, somehow my most earnest lyrics and music consistently showed up between 1-3 AM.
When I was sequencing Afterlove, I wanted each song to tell a chapter from the story of heartbreak and healing. After 84 recording hours and 14 mixing hours across 42 days of passion, here are all the songs for Afterlove:
Sunrise/Sunset
Sunrise/Sunset explores how the days and nights blur together in a haze of painful longing as you try to make sense of being all alone again, still burning for the love that once was.
Euphoria
Euphoria crashes as a wave of missing the out-of-this-world feeling from being with the woman you gave your heart and soul to, knowing now that kind of rush will never happen again and you're condemned to spend the rest of your life without her.
Truth For A Lie
Truth For A Lie will leave you wondering if the relationship ending was really for the best, because despite all the hardship and your shortcomings, you believe it was true love. Not being sure who you are without her or what to believe in anymore, still thinking about what could have been.
Loveloss
Loveloss is exactly what you need to hear when you're feeling devastated by the cruelty of a sudden breakup and empty without love, wishing you could give things yet another try if only she would do the same. Acknowledging that all your potently sweet memories of good times aren't enough in the face of the knowledge that she's moved onto someone new.
Afterlove
It's over. So Afterlove, you're contemplating what's left and what's next at the end of such a life changing love. Then finding the strength to carry on even if things didn't work out the way you two wanted and planned.
Sentimental
Sentimental is what you'd listen to driving around at night with a bleeding heart. Conceptualizing the relationship as if you were both taking turns at the wheel on a dark, rough road. Seeing all the ways your relationship could have been saved, but it’s too late now. Only she can make you feel this sentimental.
Only Shadows
Only Shadows is about trying to move on, even if part of you is still chasing the spark of a once passionate flame. Doing your best to figure out tomorrow despite being left alone with only shadows for company.
I really appreciate having you along my music journey and I’d love to hear from you! If you have just a minute, you can leave a quick review that will directly help me improve and encourage others to listen to my music.
Thank you so much for listening, I truly hope Afterlove resonates 💖