On "Goodnight Dreamer", Dreamer Isioma is chameleonic

Dreamer Isioma

Goodnight Dreamer

AWAL · February 23, 2022

The latest release Goodnight Dreamer by up-and-coming artist Dreamer Isioma is a beautiful depiction of confidence and vulnerability from the queer perspective. Despite being an amateur artist, Dreamer expertly modulates their voice to sound completely melodic and androgynous. Their ariose voice takes the album through a daydream full of fantasies. Songs like “StayUp!” and “Time is Temporary” guide listeners through Dreamer’s unconscious mind. They also expertly construct every song to feel homogeneous throughout the album. Dreamer sings like a scratched record, stuttering “S-s-s-s-sunset drive” in the song “Sunset Drive,” and “C-c-c-cold” in “Really, Really,” making the album play like a vinyl seamlessly spinning circles between songs. Dreamer further changes the tone of their voice throughout the album’s narrative songs like “Crying in the Club” and “Time is Temporary.”

Dreamer shows great pride in their gender expression, both in life and throughout the album. They consistently document their journey with gender expression on their Instagram and thank their fans for their endless support. In one post from January 31, Dreamer thanked their fans, writing, “whether you just discovered me now or been rockin with me since I had long twists, THANK YOU.” This appreciation does not go unnoticed, because it shows that they know that their fans have also seen them toy with their gender identity since their first single released in 2019. In their album, they modulate the tone of their voice to beautifully slip between being melodic and feminine and at other times, rough and masculine. In a post on November 26th, they documented that they felt extreme “gender euphoria” after having a masculinizing chest surgery. After this moment, Dreamer transcended binary gender norms to become a confident nonbinary human free from the shackles of gender roles.

Dreamer does not dwell on those struggles throughout Goodnight Dreamer. Instead, they focus on bragging about getting money and bitches on songs like “Really, Really,” “I’m So Done With You,” “Sunset Drive,” and “HUH?” They boast that people are jealous of them for being “young, black, and famous” and they “will not stop with this gay sh-t,” rather than dwelling on hateful judgement from onlookers. Dreamer dives deeper into their insecurities and past relationships as the album carries on into more melodious soundscapes. Instead of being the picture of power that they paint in “Sunset Drive,” they reveal that they can let their guard down and get hurt as the album’s narrative develops through “Bad Ting,” “Voulez–Vous Me To…,” and “Crying in the Club.” Dreamer rolls into more personal parts of their conscious mind and reveals that they know they were “a really bad guy” in the past, but it was because they were going through “a really bad time.” The album progressively meditates on love and discovering true feelings beyond the initial taste of lust that is felt at the beginning of a relationship in the song, “StayUp!” Each partner feels as though the person they just met will disappear like a handful of sand in the wind. “Goodnight Dreamer” beautifully illustrates how as a relationship evolves, they begin to see their partner as a rock in their life that could hurt them if they left. This evolution is beautifully executed, and it pulls the listeners into a new dimension of Dreamer’s artistic vision. In this piece, Dreamer’s energy and confidence tones down, like they’re getting ready to rest their head on a pillow with their lover.

This debut album by Dreamer Isioma is an intriguingly beautiful commentary on love and sexuality. Dreamer could dive deeper into their construction of the album by adding interludes to add new textures to their flowing soundscape. Despite this detail, Dreamer’s fresh androgynous musical style is sure to impress current and future fans.