The New Citizen Kane – Causing A Commotion Review: Glitter, Funk, and Unapologetic Mischief

If only your Spotify playlist would burst into sequins and party under a disco ball until dawn, The New Citizen Kane's new EP, Causing A Commotion, is essentially that dream come true. The band has never been a complacent experimenter, from the galactic soundscapes of The Tales of Morpheus to the raunchy neon playground of TEMPLE. BEACH. DISCO, DADDY. With every release, he appears intent on gliding between genres like a magician yanking scarves from thin air. This time? He's pillaging the glitter box, turnin' up the BPM, and reminding us that music don't always gotta brood, sometimes it just has to boogie.

Kicking Off With a Pulse

Opening song "Sunconscious (Primordial Radio Mix)" forgoes foreplay altogether. It attacks with a driving 4/4 beat that makes you think someone opened the doors to the club, gave you a glow stick, and pushed you directly into the centre of the dance floor. It's disco, it's pop, it's electronic glitter, and, yes, it all but glows. Don't resist; just submit.

Then there's "Bubble Gum Hot." Even the title is a sugar high, but the song goes all in with sizzling horns that sound like confetti shooters. Funk edges peek in and out, the groove gets playful, and before you know it, you're smiling like you just stumbled on a free pizza buffet at a party. The horns are the MVP hero here, brassy little troublemakers that give the entire song lift.

When the Lights Dim (Just a Little)

But it's not all unrelenting light. "San Diego (Synthphonica Radio Mix)" creeps up with rich synths that are the sonic equivalent of golden-hour light. It's melancholy, hazy, warm, a great mix of sadness and euphoria. The vocals drift with just enough pain to remind you that even clubbers have hearts. This one lingers beautifully, like the afterglow of an evening you can't help but rewind.

Meanwhile, “Meet Me On Street Corners (Synthphonica Radio Mix)” leans fully into 2025 pop polish, shiny, sleek, engineered to stick in your head until you’re humming it while brushing your teeth. It’s pure radio candy but done with flair.

Funk, Fragments, and Full-On Commotion

"Hearts Aren't Made Of Wood (Rework '25)" swaggered in with gritty, bass-laden swagger, and a vocal performance that's essentially taunting you not to budge. And there's "Subconscious," a strange 25-second a cappella fragment that I found myself wondering: "Was this a song? A joke from another planet? A palate cleanser?" Either one, it's a weird lung-clearing.

The title track “Causing A Commotion” wears its Daft Punk influence on its shiny, filtered sleeve. Funk riffs twist and turn, the groove is tight, and the whole thing feels like a love letter to the French house giants. By the time “Ratbag Joy (Alternative Radio Mix)” closes the EP, you’re fully convinced The New Citizen Kane has bottled the reckless optimism of endless summer nights and slipped it into your headphones.

Final Spin

To listen to Causing A Commotion is to travel back in time to the nights when the air was electric with possibility, the drinks were always flowing, and the only rule was: never stop dancing. It's youthful without innocence, nostalgic without being quaint, and fun without apology.

So go ahead, hit play. Let your inner disco kid out. And if anyone asks why you’re suddenly dancing in your kitchen at 2 a.m., just blame The New Citizen Kane. After all, he warned us: he came here to cause a commotion.