Death Is a Dream offers an intriguing glimpse behind the veil of HTRK’s celebrated 2021 album, Rhinestones, by collecting 10 demos, vignettes, and sketches from the album’s genesis. Hearing the songs in a starker state illuminates just how striking and durable these arrangements are – like lost highway jukebox standards, the melodies radiate spectral heartbreak in nearly any key or tempo. Many of these versions come tethered to a percussive pulse, giving them even more of a loping, lonesome feel, softly swaying in a private wilderness.