At the tail end of 2019, Cody McKenna moved to a new home with plans of finally building himself a home recording studio. Prep began on this studio build in October of that year and carried on little by little over the following months, until the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on everything in early 2020. Inspired, eager, and gung-ho to write and record the follow up to II: Tribes & Oddities, the lack of progress on a space in which to do that was devastating for him... and it lasted years.

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Afterglow is the only piece of music McKenna was able to record and release in 2020. The song not only speaks to the struggle one can have with depression, but on a conceptual level it serves as sort of a prelude to IV: Timber, the as-of-yet unreleased 4th album in The Circle Of Wonders anthology. Though the song will not appear on IV: Timber, it gives a glimpse into the mind of the main character and explores his struggle with depression.