The New Citizen Kane Reveals the Raw Side of PSYCHEDELIKA
Sometimes a big, loud production can hide the real heart of a song. The New Citizen Kane, also known as Kane Michael Luke, decided to peel back all those layers with his new release, “PSYCHEDELIKA STRIPPED”. Now if you remember, after psychedelika pt 1, we entered Well, Damn here you are and it gave us an experience like okay this is a baked potato, how about we try the raw feel without those processed stuffs. And here we are, the album dropped last Friday, and honestly, it’s like sitting in a quiet room with the guy while he plays his diary entries on an acoustic guitar.
After living in London and spending years perfecting his craft, Kane is moving away from the heavy synths for a minute to show us how these songs actually started. If you liked the first part of his Psychedelika project, this is the “quiet” version that lets the lyrics do all the heavy lifting.
The album starts with “I Don’t Need To Say”, and right away, you can hear the difference. Without the electronic beats, the melody feels way more fragile. You can feel every lyrics and word piercing. The natural flow and all the emotions being released. “As Within, So Without” follows that same vibe—it’s wide open and very human.
A major highlight is the new track “Baile de Máscaras“. Well these days a lot of us hide a lot under a smiling face whilst being drained, and this song captures this perfectly. I love how it’s inspired by bossa nova and sung in both English and Portuguese. What Kane did here is awesome , the way he uses the idea of a masquerade ball to talk about how we hide our true feelings in relationships us brilliant. The song is a bit moody and very smooth. Then there is “Beers & Bad Lies“, which is actually a sneak peek of what is coming in his next big project, Psychedelika Pt. 2. In this acoustic form, it feels incredibly exposed.
Songs like “Café Life” and “Subconscious” breathe in a totally different way here. You can really hear the grit in his voice. “Well, Damn! Here You Are” and “Eyes Wide Shut” lose the “dance” feel and become much more about the heartbreak. By the time you get to “My Muse“, “Here, Now“, and “Bite The Bullet“, it’s clear that Kane doesn’t need a wall of sound to make an impact and draw listeners attention. Instead this stripped version brings listeners more closer, gets them more glued and allows them to explore the raw nature of how things are and experience everything as it is.
Kane has always been an “artist-first” kind of guy. He isn’t trying to follow trends or make something “radio-safe.” He is just being himself. This collection is a perfect bridge between his past work and what he’s building next. It’s for the people who actually pay attention to the words. If you want to hear what a song sounds like before all the bells and whistles are added, this is the record for you. It’s raw, it’s a little haunting, and it’s very real.
Enjoy More From The New Citizen Kane here;
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