The Tales of Morpheus (LP) - The New Citizen Kane (Pop) Fresh off of our December review of their EP “Could Have Been”, we’ve got a brand new 21-track LP from The New Citizen Kane to dive into—”The Tales of Morpheus”. This project is an opus, and while we’ve only just gotten to know The New Citizen Kane this year, we feel as though all of his musical roads have been leading to this project.
In case you missed our last review, here’s the download on The New Citizen Kane. Singer, songwriter and producer Kane Luke started on the theater circuit at 17 and eventually recording his first EP “Now Or Never” at 18. A multi-talented artist, Kane’s resume includes modeling, acting and sound engineering. By 2008 he had a club hit on his hands, “Don’t Feel No Shame”, followed by “Spun Like Sugar”. Now rebranded as The New Citizen Kane, he’s been busy with releases including 2014’s album “It’s Not Science…It’s A Feeling” and EPs including “Endless Summer Serenade” and “Could Have Been.”
“The Tales of Morpheus” was described to us as a child of self-discovery, with The New Citizen Kane using the creation of the LP from his home studio as a form of therapy. He described the tracks as separate chapters in his life, exploring themes of self examination, toxicity in relationships and the transcendence of love.
When last we checked in with The New Citizen Kane, we called the “Could Have Been” EP sonically cohesive and musically engaging,—a “no skips” project. We came to know Kane as a storyteller, exuding warmth with heartfelt lyrics that distinguished him from his contemporaries. Boasting 21 tracks, “The Tales of Morpheus” is far more expansive in scope, sliding from retro 80s synth pop to modern club jams to Top 40 pop anthems, putting The New Citizen Kane’s versatility as an artist on full display. We even get a surprising neo soul flavor with “Disco Love” and a diversion into ballad territory with the island breezy "Contra Botafogos”, making for quite a diverse collection of records, but with enough cohesion that nothing feels entirely out of left field.
Kane’s sweet spot is certainly the summer club jam—so much of this album just screams vodka sodas on a summer rooftop. “Meet Me On Street Corners” is sure to be a DJ set darling, along with the infectious “Killer Charisma”, whose funky vocoder doubles had us hooked. We also really enjoyed the slippery bass on “Heartburn”. If you’re not hearing these at the clubs, swiftly get them on your cardio playlist.
On the pop anthem side, album standouts include “Stupid Blue”—containing some of our favorite lyrics on the project—and “Lump In Your Throat.” While still dancy, there’s something about these tracks that transcend the club. These are the Hot 100 tracks of the project.
Two tracks carry over from the “Could Have Been” EP, the title track and “Forget the World”. As we said in our prior review, from the brilliant lyrics to the driving chords, “Could Have Been” just has Hot 100 written all over it. The melody is a real ear-worm, which made this track stay with us long after listening. “Forget The World” features an all encompassing bass underlying a driving chord progression that goes hard. There’s an overarching 80s synth nostalgia with the track—similar to what The Weeknd taps into. Morpheus also gives us a funky rework of prior release “Endless Summer”.
Diverse yet cohesive, “The Tales of Morpheus” is yet another no-skip project from The New Citizen Kane, and a project we recommend you put in your rotation. And again, while we’ve only just gotten to know Kane, this project has the signs of the start of a whole new level on Kane’s artistic evolution.
Tracks:
Morpheus In The Club
Killer Charisma
Heartburn
Disco Love
Stupid Blue
Electric Nights - Biorhythm Mix
Gotta Secret Electro Bounce Album Mix
Lump In Your Throat
North American Philosopher
Morpheus Interlude
Could Have Been
Forget The World
Endless Summer - Ride The New Wave ReWork
Overdrawn
Meet Me On Street Corners
Buy Me A Ticket
Contra Botafogos
Was A Light - Ethereal Version
Alchemy
Adonis & Aphrodite
Morpheus (Made Of Dreams)