A sonic reinvention that makes the album to morph to its own timeless atmosphere, ‘Two Star & The Dream Police’ briefly instills longing with distress in an intriguing way. May not be exactly spectacular all the way through, Mk.gee still manages to bring out his best set of songs that gets better with newer listens.
The psychedelic winks that Mk.gee once started have veered into their intriguing atmosphere. Writing EPs back in 2018, Mk.gee coasted off from bedroom pop into neo-psychedelia that eventually manifested through his 2020 debut album, ‘A Museum of Contradiction’, a neat albeit muted project that may have embellished Mk.gee’s fascination with that genre, but it’s a fascination that didn’t seem to burst, especially with the performances and writing not cutting through as much as they should. That didn’t stop Mk.gee however, as he did manage to put in some writing and production contributions for other artists, most importantly with Dijon on his debut album ‘Absolutely’ where Mk.gee’s production duties have tilted into a shaggy side that does provide some answers for where Mk.gee might tread on his next project. And with ‘Two Star & The Dream Police’, what he does is essentially a reinvention.
Immediately, what Mk.gee does with the compositions that breeze through creates a unique space all on its own, where the warbled and distorted textures amidst these morphing starry-eyed instrumentations surprisingly make sonic cohesion, a contrast that balances out through and through. When those melodies do pop with Mk.gee’s most vibrant vocals to date, it creates stunning moments such as the swirling guitar flutters and woodwinds on ‘How many miles’ that are punctured with the distorted vocal blasts on the chorus, the tender pop-rock and R&B flourish of ‘Are You Looking Up’ and ‘Alesis’ that nails their sentimentality, ‘New Low’ that opens up the album with its shuffling rolls of percussions and horns, the slower yet emotionally impacting cuts of ‘Breakthespell’ with the majestic spare instruments and Mk.gee’s vocoded cooings and ‘I Want’ with the interplay between Mk.gee’s solemn vocals and the subtle layers of keys, guitars, and horns before erupting the booming gated drums and fervent horns at the end, and ‘Dream Police’ that ends the album remarkably where the glimmering compositions alongside Mk.gee’s vocals effectively stick that lovestruck tone within the album.
And the poetry does lean into that lovestruck theme, but in a way where there is a shift in how Mk.gee writes this arc out. Right from the start, there is a sense of vulnerability within this romance that’s present in the lyrics, where the protagonist lays questions within this girl named Rylee whose relationship with the protagonist is going through a collapse, only creating conflict and confusion as a result. This confusion that’s present across the project does affect the longing and desire of the protagonist towards Rylee, elevating the tension that keeps exposing the stumbling mishaps for the protagonist, whether that be the fights he made with Rylee or the seductive temptation he has with Candy. Yet with all of that yearning starting to lose charge because of those tangled moments, the protagonist still clings onto that relationship with a reserved attitude, wishing for Rylee to cut off the relationship, a wish that ends up not happening.
Yet, while the writing does stick harder and Mk.gee’s experimentation with this sonic palette does manage to build resonance over time, it doesn’t always stick the landing most of the time. It does come from the fact that a lot of these cuts come off a bit brief for their own good, not helped out by the sometimes lack of striking hooks that never let Mk.gee’s performances and writing break out even more. Despite the fascinating production he leans in this album, there are some intent tonal moments that can get a bit too far, most specifically the squealing bass tones on ‘Rylee & I’ that don’t exactly blend with the song’s atmosphere.
With every subsequent listen, ‘Two Star & The Dream Police’ and its brand of neo-psychedelia swerved into morphed styles of hypnagogic pop, pop rock, bedroom pop and swivels of modern alternative R&B does manage to work with enough highlights and promise from Mk.gee. Might not always work due to the melodies just needing more sharper choruses and a tad few production perks that don’t coalesce as much, but Mk.gee does pull together a project that has his best set of writing and performances to date. Within this amorphous, boundless dreamy space that Mk.gee has built, there are the stars that will light up his way, potentially creating more spaces like this.
Favorite Tracks: ‘New Low’, ‘How many miles’, ‘Are You Looking Up’, ‘I Want’, ‘Alesis’, ‘Breakthespell’, ‘Dream police’
Least Favorite Track: ‘Rylee & I’