As I stated last week in my write-up about MICHELLE, Indie music is doing big things in 2024. There are so many artists popping into the spotlight all of the time, as the genre particularly does well on TikTok. Users of the app like to support and latch onto new artists who haven’t been tainted by the industry yet as their music is raw and full of life. Mk.gee is a rising Indie artist who has been popping up on my TikTok feed frequently lately. They are an artist that has been honing their sound for several years and are just now starting to get the praise they deserve after putting in the work. Mk.gee(the brainchild of singer/songwriter/producer Michael Todd Gordon) got their career started back in 2017 when they started putting singles online. In 2018, Mk.gee dropped two EPs, Pronounced McGee and Fool. Mk.gee followed this project up with their debut mixtape A Museum of Contradiction, which came out in 2020. This project got Mk.gee noticed by music critics and underground music blogs online, with NME in particular praising Mk.gee as one to watch. Over the next couple of years, Mk.gee focused on producing and collecting writing credits for artists like Omar Apollo, Dijon, and The Kid Laroi. Mk.gee has finally returned to making their own music with the release of their new album Two Star & The Dream Police. With all of that being said, here is how I feel about this new album from Mk.gee, which is garnering a lot of traction online. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from Two Star & The Dream Police, and also comment on how you feel about the album as a whole.
Mk.gee gets this record started off on a bright and bizarre note with ‘New Low.’ This song is bubbly and warm, but also sort of anxious sounding. The melody is driven by a cozy piano riff that is overshadowed by heavily saturated synths with the same tone. These synths that push the melody have an underwater feeling to them. The beat for this song has an off-kilter tempo and is provided by metallic-sounding drums that make the song sound like it came from a different dimension. The vocals on ‘New Low’ are equally as weird as the instrumental, also sounding like they are coming from underwater. ‘New Low’ is welcoming and uneasy at the same time, and it certainly gets the record going interestingly. ‘How many miles’ is a lot slower and tamer of a song than the opener. This song feels like an ultramodern version of the Yacht Rock and Blue-Eyed Soul that was big in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I can hear elements of artists like Rupert Holmes and Michael Bolton through the tone of the track. The melody, which is provided by a sweet guitar riff, is super distorted, making the track almost sound robotic. The tempo of the drums is easy-going and light; like the melody, they also have a very robotic tint to them. Mk.gee’s vocal performance on this track is not the most engaging thing, but it does not take away from the nice feeling the song gives the listener. ‘Are You Looking Up’ is the third song in a row that is nothing like the tracks that precede it. This song takes inspiration from a different kind of Classic Rock music. It has a twangy Country and Blues sound that is reminiscent of the early 1970s. To be honest, this song does not draw me in very much. Similar to the first two songs, it has a futuristic tint to the arrangement of the melody and beat. Unlike those, this feature makes the song kind of abrasive, especially in the way the vocals are doctored. ‘Are You Looking Up’ is a cool concept, but does not work for me at all.
‘DNM’ brings back the 1980s Pop-Rock theme we got on the song ‘New Low.’ This song is a lot funkier than that one, though; honestly, it reminds me a lot of Prince. This song is driven by a groovy piano riff complemented by some majorly distorted synths. These synths are distorted in a manner that sort of gives them an electric guitar element, which is one of the things that makes me think of Prince when I hear this song. This melody is put on top of an upbeat, slightly off-tempo drum pattern that like ‘New Low’ also gives the song an anxious element. Mk.Gee’s vocals are a lot less doctored than they are on the first three tracks, helping them sound a bit more inviting than those. ‘DNM’ is another example of Mk.Gee going way outside of the box and putting his own spin on some classic sounds. ‘You got it’ is probably the most tame song on the record so far. Strangely, that probably makes it the most boring one. ‘You got it’ is not nearly as doctored and synthesized as the songs that precede it. This track is driven by a pretty typical R&B melody that is put over a fairly light beat. This melody is slightly distorted, but nothing like the way the first 4 tracks are. The vocals on ‘You got it’ are fairly mellow too. ‘You got it’ may actually be the most welcoming song on the record, but that sort of makes it stand out negatively. We go back to the extreme weirdness with the song ‘Rylee & I.’ This is a second track that feels inspired by Yacht Rock or Blue-Eyed Soul. ‘Rylee & I’ is a lot more abrasive than ‘How many miles, though.’ The way the riff that drives this melody is distorted and arranged is honestly sort of off-putting. The off-beat tempo of the drums certainly adds to the super weird feeling of the song. I can see the vision with this one, but the extra strange arrangement of the instrumental pushes this one a little over the top for me in terms of its peculiarity. I wish the instrumental were slightly less doctored, as the vocals and melody are nice and this song would be pretty pleasant if it were a bit more standard sounding. ‘Candy’ may be the most “normal” sounding song on the record. It definitely brings the album back to earth and gets things back on track for me. This is one that feels very influenced by 1980s Arena Rock music. It has the kind of ballad-driven feeling that will make one think of bands like Bon Jovi or Whitesnake. The Arena Rock feeling of this song not only comes from the bluesy guitar riff but also from the way the vocals are performed. Of course, like everything else on this record, the instrumental and vocals are pretty aggressively saturated and distorted. I would say, for the most part, the distortion and saturation is less prevalent on this one. ‘Candy’ also has a more standard beat than most of the other tracks on the record, which contributes to the “normalness” of the track. ‘I Want’ is the second song in a row that is not nearly as distorted and saturated as everything before ‘Candy.’ This is a track with a very groovy old-school R&B feeling to it, with a bit of a New Wave or Gothic Twist. This melody and guitar riff mainly make me think of artists like Al Green or Marvin Gaye. There is also an element to the mix and tempo that sort of feels inspired by Flock of Seagulls or even The Cure. ‘I Want’ contains my favorite vocals of the project to this point. Mk.gee’s vocals on this one are so strong and emphasized, giving ‘I Want’ an all-encompassing feeling. This one is a major highlight from the record for me.
‘Alesis’ is the second song in a row that stands out in my opinion. It feels heavily inspired by 1990s Reggae-infused Alternative Rock, which I can totally appreciate. The guitar riff for this one is super catchy and feathery. When put on top of the type of groovy and raw beat this track has, it makes me want to dance around my living room when I hear it. Like the last two tracks, this one is not nearly as distorted and saturated as a lot of the rest of the album, which helps me jam to the melody more. Like it was on ‘I Want,’ Mk.gee’s vocals on ‘Alesis’ are great. His vocals are so charming, really taking this track to the next level. ‘Breakthespell’ is a track that is aptly named, as it really slows things up and breaks them down. After the more upbeat and dancey feeling of the last few tracks, this laid-back and calm type of song is appreciated. ‘Breakthespell’ feels inspired by retro R&B music, albeit a different kind than what we heard earlier. It has the kind of smooth and lovely melody(driven by an awesomely groovy guitar riff) that is reminiscent of music from artists like Jodeci or Keith Sweat. Mk.gee’s vocals on this track are pretty understated, but that is okay because they keep the focus on the entertaining instrumental. I am not going to lie, ‘Little Bit More’ is a track that does not do a ton for me. It is not unpleasant or bad necessarily, but it is kind of boring(especially compared to some of the other music on this record). The best way I can describe this one is that it feels like Christian Rock sing-along songs. I do not know why, but the melody immediately reminds me of Hillsong Church music. Even though it is not unpleasant, this sound sort of turns me away. This song could easily use a lot more production tricks. The heavy distortion and saturation we saw at other points in the record is lacking in this one, making it a bit too mundane. Mk.gee goes back to the Yacht Rock-inspired music on the final track, ‘Dream Police.’ This one sort of splits the difference between some of the weirder stuff on the record and some of the more mellow stuff. The melody is provided by a welcoming and crisp guitar riff that is heavily saturated and showered in sound effects that sound like various bells or chimes or playing. The beat on ‘Dream Police’ is pretty soft, but it is a bit off-tempo, giving the song a peculiar feeling that almost gives it a suspenseful feeling(which contrasts the comforting feeling of the melody). Mk.gee’s vocals on ‘Dream Police’ are so luscious; his deep vocals make this song feel very full and engrossing. ‘Dream Police’ is a song that sums up the sonic direction of this album pretty well, and I think it is a solid way to close Two Star & The Dream Police out.
Two Star & The Dream Police is an album that gives me a lot of emotions and thoughts as a listener, but it is tough to put these thoughts and emotions into words. I think this kind of record is the perfect example of an unrefined Indie artist who draws inspiration from all different kinds of music and is trying to push boundaries in ways none of his peers are pushing them. Mk.gee is a very eclectic artist who seems touched by many different kinds of older music. There are components of multiple genres from multiple eras on Two Star & The Dream Police, all of them coming with a newfangled twist that makes Mk.gee truly stick out through his production style. I have to say, some moments on this record do not work well for me; sometimes, it feels like he is trying to go against the norm a bit too much without a ton of direction, making moments of this record feel scattered and rough. Two Star & The Dream Police still has a lot to enjoy on it, and it shows that Mk.gee is an artist that deserves the attention they have been getting. I am intrigued to see what Mk.gee does next because if he can hone in his sound a bit, he could create something super special in the future.
EAST SIDE VIBES 