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Two Star & the Dream Police

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Two Star & the Dream Police
Studio album by
Mk.gee
ReleasedFebruary 9, 2024 (2024-02-09)
Genre
Length33:18
LabelR&R
Producer
Mk.gee chronology
A Museum of Contradiction
(2020) 		Two Star & the Dream Police
(2024)
Singles from Two Star & the Dream Police
  1. "Candy" / "How Many Miles"
    Released: August 11, 2023
  2. "Are You Looking Up" / "You Got It"
    Released: October 20, 2023
  3. "Dream Police"
    Released: January 19, 2024

Two Star & the Dream Police is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gordon, known professionally as Mk.gee. Released on February 9, 2024, through R&R, the album was supported by five singles: "Candy", "How Many Miles", "Are You Looking Up", "You Got It", and "Dream Police".

The album received critical acclaim, with reviewers highlighting the lyrical content, production, as well as Gordon's artistic growth and vocal performances. It has been featured on several mid-year lists of the best albums of 2024 and was also named one of the best albums of the first half of the 2020s by Pitchfork.[1] Commercially, Two Star & the Dream Police peaked at number 84 on the Scottish Albums Chart and number 29 on the UK Independent Albums Chart, making it Gordon's first charting album.

To promote the album, Gordon embarked on a North American tour from April to May 2024, followed by a world tour that began in September and is set to conclude in December.

Background

[edit]

Two Star & the Dream Police is Gordon's first release since his debut mixtape A Museum of Contradiction in 2020. In 2021, before working on the album, Gordon collaborated with musician Dijon, serving as co-writer and co-producer on his debut studio album Absolutely. Since then, Dijon has been Gordon's frequent collaborator.[2]

Singles

[edit]

The album was preceded by the release of five singles. "Candy" and "How Many Miles" were released together as the double lead single to the then-unannounced album on August 11, 2023.[3] Will Schube of FLOOD Magazine described the former as a "funk-leaning lo-fi pop jam filled with psychedelic guitar squiggles and a magnificent use of vocoder" and the latter as an R&B-inspired song that "showcases [Mk.gee]'s gifts as a songwriter and vocalist."[3] Joshua Minsoo Kim of Rolling Stone analyzed "How Many Miles" as a song about "feeling lost and finding yourself" and deemed it the album's highlight.[4] Brady Brickner-Wood of Pitchfork praised the song and said, "No song better illustrates Mk.gee's gifts than 'How many miles.'"[5]

On October 20, 2023, Gordon released another double single "Are You Looking Up" and "You Got It".[6] Both songs were met with critical praise, with Dazed including the former in its list of "20 best tracks of 2023", placing it at number 12,[7] while the latter being named the 26th best song of the year by The Fader.[8] In June 2024, "Are You Looking Up" was featured in the third season of the American comedy-drama series The Bear, appearing in the ninth episode titled "Apologies".[9]

On January 19, 2024, the album's fifth single "Dream Police" was released, followed by the announcement of the album release date and title.[10]

Composition

[edit]

Musically, Two Star & the Dream Police has been described by Hypebeast as a "genre-surfing bedroom pop that's lo-fi yet bright [and] intimate yet expansive" record with elements of indie and alternative.[2]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[11]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[12]
Pitchfork7.8/10[5]
Rolling Stone[4]

Upon release, Two Star & the Dream Police was met with acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 83, based on four reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[13]

Reviewing for Clash, Ana Lamond wrote, "There is an immersive quality across the tracklist that instantly strikes through. Each track is submerged in a nocturnal wash of acoustics, playful in its use of distance, textures and melody. [...] Sonically, Two Star & The [Dream] Police is able to defy the traditional conventions of a ballad, whilst reaching into a magnetic vulnerability through [Mk.gee]'s pen."[11] Max Gayler of The Line of Best Fit praised the album, highlighting the lyrical content, production and Gordon's vocals, and wrote, "Clocking in at just over 33 minutes, these 12 songs carry the weight of an artistry so well studied and expertly executed.[12] Pitchfork's writer Brady Brickner-Wood called it a "magnificent debut album", lauding its production and vocal performances, and said, "the magic of [the album is that] nothing in contemporary music sounds quite like it, yet it seems to have always been with us, hovering just outside the realm of possibility."[5]

Critics' ranking

[edit]
Mid-year critics' rankings for Two Star & the Dream Police
Publication Time span Rank Ref.
Billboard Mid-year —
[14]
Complex Mid-year
13
[15]
Rolling Stone Mid-year —
[16]
Stereogum Mid-year
8
[17]
Uproxx Mid-year —
[18]
Vogue Mid-year —
[19]
Vulture Mid-year —
[20]
Critics' rankings for Two Star & the Dream Police tracks
Song Publication Time span Rank Ref.
"Alesis" Coup De Main Mid-year —
[21]
Vulture Mid-year —
[22]
"Are You Looking Up" Dazed Year-end (2023)
12
[7]
Los Angeles Times Mid-year —
[23]
"I Want" NPR Mid-year —
[24]
"Little Bit More" The New York Times Mid-year —
[25]
"You Got It" The Fader Year-end (2023)
26
[8]
2024 year-end rankings for Two Star & the Dream Police
Publication/critic Accolade Rank Ref.
Apple Music Apple Music's Favorite Albums of 2024 - [26]
Exclaim! 50 Best Albums of 2024 19 [27]
Mid-decade critics' rankings for Two Star & the Dream Police
Publication Time span Rank Ref.
Pitchfork 100 Best Albums of the 2020s so far
91
[1]

Promotion and tours

[edit]

After the release of the two lead singles, Gordon announced a 5-show tour in 2023 called Inside Each of Us Are Two Stars, which included shows in Brooklyn (October 16 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg), Toronto (October 18 at the Great Hall), Chicago (October 21 at the Lincoln Hall), Los Angeles (November 1 at the Roxy Theatre), and San Francisco (November 3 at Rickshaw Stop).[28] On February 16, Mk.gee held a one-night live show in London. The show was originally set to be held at Oslo Hackney, but was moved to the EartH Hall, a larger venue, due to high demand.[29][30][31]

On February 24, 2024, Gordon made an appearance at the Jil Sander Fall Winter 2024 Runaway Show in Milan, performing "How Many Miles", "Alesis" and "Dream Police", alongside Benji B.[32] On April 11, 2024, Gordon performed "Are You Looking Up" on the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, marking his debut performance on television.[33]

North America tour

[edit]

Gordon embarked on a longer, 18-show tour in North America to promote Two Star & the Dream Police. The tour began on April 23, 2024, in San Diego, California and concluded on May 19, 2024, in Boston, Massachusetts.[34][35]

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue[34]
Date City Country Venue
April 23, 2024 San Diego United States Music Box
April 24, 2024 Los Angeles The Fonda Theatre
April 25, 2024
April 27, 2024 San Francisco Great American Music Hall
April 29, 2024 Portland Revolution Hall
April 30, 2024 Vancouver Canada The Biltmore
May 1, 2024 Seattle United States Neumos
May 3, 2024 Salt Lake City Urban Lounge
May 4, 2024 Denver Meow Wulf
May 7, 2024 Austin Empire Garage
May 9, 2024 Atlanta Variety Playhouse
May 10, 2024 Durham Motorco
May 11, 2024 Washington D.C. The Howard
May 13, 2024 Toronto Canada Phoenix Concert Theatre
May 16, 2024 Brooklyn United States Elsewhere
May 17, 2024 New York City Irving Plaza
May 18, 2024 Philadelphia Theatre of Living Arts
May 19, 2024 Boston Sinclair

World tour

[edit]

Following the success of his 18-show tour, Gordon has embarked on his first-ever world tour spanning North America, Europe and Australia. The tour began on September 2, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada and will conclude on December 7, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia.[36]

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue
Date City Country Venue
September 2, 2024 Vancouver Canada Commodore Ballroom
September 3, 2024 Seattle United States Showbox SoDo
September 6, 2024 Oakland Fox Theater
September 7, 2024 Los Angeles Hollywood Palladium
September 9, 2024 San Diego The Observatory North Park
September 11, 2024 Denver Summit
September 13, 2024 Houston White Oak Music Hall
September 11, 2024 Austin Emo's Austin
September 13, 2024 Dallas House Of Blues
September 18, 2024 Atlanta Tabernacle
September 19, 2024 Louisville Mercury Ballroom
September 20, 2024 Nashville Marathon Music Works
September 21, 2024 Newport MegaCorp Pavilion
September 23, 2024 Silver Spring The Fillmore Silver Spring
September 24, 2024 New Haven Toad's Place
September 26, 2024 Boston House Of Blues
September 28, 2024 Philadelphia Franklin Music Hall
September 29, 2024 Brooklyn Brooklyn Paramount Theater
October 1, 2024 Toronto Canada HISTORY
October 2, 2024 Detroit United States St. Andrew's Hall
October 3, 2024 Chicago Vic Theatre
October 5, 2024 Minneapolis Uptown Theater
October 31, 2024 London United Kingdom Electric Brixton
November 3, 2024 Paris France Elysée Montmartre
November 4, 2024 Berlin Germany Betonhalle
November 5, 2024 Amsterdam Netherlands Paradise
December 3, 2024 Brisbane Australia The Triffid
December 5, 2024 Sydney Metro Theatre
December 7, 2024 Melbourne Max Watt's

Track listing

[edit]

Credits adapted from Spotify.[37]

All tracks are written by Michael Gordon, except where noted. All tracks are produced by Gordon, except "New Low" and "DNM" are produced by Gordon and Dijon Duenas.

Two Star & the Dream Police track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."New Low" 2:06
2."How Many Miles" 2:21
3."Are You Looking Up" 2:46
4."DNM"
  • Gordon
  • Duenas
1:58
5."You Got It"
2:14
6."Rylee & I" 2:22
7."Candy" 2:54
8."I Want" 3:38
9."Alesis" 3:18
10."Breakthespell" 4:27
11."Little Bit More" 2:19
12."Dream Police"
  • Keuch
  • Gordon
2:49
Total length:33:18

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Two Star & the Dream Police
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[38] 84
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[39] 29

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "The 100 Best Albums of the 2020s So Far". Pitchfork. October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Bernstein, Elaina (February 9, 2024). "Mk.gee Blends All the Vibes on His Debut Album 'Two Star & The Dream Police'". Hypebeast. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Schube, Will (August 11, 2022). "Mk.gee Returns with Two New Singles, 'Candy' and 'How many miles'". FLOOD Magazine. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Kim, Joshua Minsoo (February 20, 2024). "Mk.gee Craves Intimacy and Creates Tension on 'Two Star & the Dream Police'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Brickner-Wood, Brady (February 16, 2024). "Mk.gee: Two Star & the Dream Police Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  6. ^ Murphy, Dylan (October 20, 2023). "Mk.gee shares double sided release 'Are You Looking Up / You got it'". District Magazine. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "The 20 best tracks of 2023". Dazed. December 13, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "The 100 best songs of 2023". The FADER. December 14, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  9. ^ Gomez, Dessi (June 28, 2024). "Here Are All the Songs in 'The Bear' Season 3". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  10. ^ Kelly, Tyler Damara (January 19, 2024). "Mk.gee has announced his debut album, Two Star and the Dream Police, alongside the brand new single 'Dream police'". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Lamond, Ana (February 9, 2024). "Mk.gee – Two Star & The Dream Police". Clash. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Gayler, Max (February 16, 2024). "Mk.gee: Two Star & The Dream Police". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Mk.gee - Two Star & The Dream Police". Metacritic. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  14. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2024 (So Far): Staff List". Billboard. June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "The Best Albums Of 2024 (So Far)". Complex. June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  16. ^ "The Best Albums of 2024 So Far". Rolling Stone. June 11, 2024. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  17. ^ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2024 So Far". Stereogum. June 4, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  18. ^ "The Best Albums Of 2024 So Far". Uproxx. June 4, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  19. ^ "The Best Albums Of 2024 So Far". Vogue. August 21, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  20. ^ Jenkins, Craig (June 5, 2024). "The Best Albums of 2024 (So Far)". Vulture. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  21. ^ "The Best Songs Of 2024 (so far)..." Coup De Main Magazine. June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  22. ^ Curto, Justin; Suskind, Alex (May 2, 2024). "The Best Songs of 2024 (So Far)". Vulture. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  23. ^ Wood, Mikael (June 7, 2024). "The 24 best songs of 2024 so far". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  24. ^ "The best songs of 2024 (so far)". NPR. June 18, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  25. ^ Pareles, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (June 20, 2024). "The 40 Best Songs of 2024 (So Far)". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  26. ^ "Our Favorite Albums of 2024". Apple Music. November 25, 2024. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  27. ^ Exclaim! Staff (November 27, 2024). "Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2024". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  28. ^ Mk.gee (August 16, 2023). "TICKETS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY 8/18 at 10am ET. 5 shows all new music". Archived from the original on February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Instagram.
  29. ^ Mk.gee [@Mk_gee_] (January 23, 2024). "London : tickets on sale Wednesday" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ Mk.gee [@Mk_gee_] (January 25, 2024). "LONDON sold out fast again so upgraded to Earth Hall. More tickets on sale Thursday at 10am GMT" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Twitter.
  31. ^ "Mk.gee". EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney). Archived from the original on February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  32. ^ Deville, Chris (February 26, 2024). "Mk.gee Performs His New Album At Jil Sander FW24 Runway Show". Stereogum. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  33. ^ Vito, Jo (April 11, 2024). "Mk.gee Performs 'Are You Looking Up' on Kimmel". Consequence Of Sound. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  34. ^ a b Pointer, Flisadam (February 16, 2024). "Mk.gee Announces 2024 North American Tour To Support His Latest Album". Uproxx. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  35. ^ Mk.gee (March 9, 2023). "Upgraded venues here, tour next month". Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024 – via Instagram.
  36. ^ "Mk.gee Announces Fall 2024 World Tour". Hypebeast. June 10, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  37. ^ Mk.gee (February 9, 2024). "Two Star & The Dream Police". Spotify. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  38. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  39. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
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