King Princess Excites and Disappoints in 'Cheap Queen'
by Annie Wojnarowski
For an album to both accurately depict the experience of being a queer woman while also achieving mainstream success from the general public would be a rare revelation in the modern music industry. King Princess’s album, Cheap Queen, sets its sights at achieving just that, however, she falls just short.
Mikaela Mullaney Straus, who goes by her stage name King Princess, is someone who has shot into the pop music scene suddenly and rapidly. Releasing her first single, “1950,” in 2018, Straus told the story of a lesbian who was fascinated about the way queer women would have to hide their relationships in an extremely conservative and restrictive time. Since that single, King Princess has slowly released more singles, such as “Talia” and “Pussy is God”. Cheap Queen, which was released on October 25th, is her first full-length album.
Opening with a song that sets the tone of the album, King Princess professes her neuroticism in “Tough on Myself”. A dream-pop opener, this reflects the headspace of someone who can’t get someone else out of their head. Repeating “I was thinking you and I could get together / I was thinking maybe you could do me better” throughout the chorus, this reflects the endless cycle of thought that she is trying to convey. This is a solid opening track, that welcomes the listener to a very hit and miss record.
The namesake of the album, “Cheap Queen” is the perfect alternative pop that got King Princess to her height of fame in the first place. With an infectious chorus that does not take itself too seriously, King Princess divulges on heartbreak, friendships, and the LGBT community. With a sample of an older woman saying 'Smiling for the audience,' 'How did I do it?' coupled with a soft beat, this song is most representative of the King Princess that we’ve seen in her previous singles and EPs.
As the album progresses, it becomes marred by filler. Trying to establish ballads, “Ain’t Together”, “Homegirl”, “Watching My Phone” and “You Destroyed My Heart” are all songs that meld together in tone and mood. Although the lyrics may be interesting at times, these songs fail to jump out as individual pieces of art within this album. What is most frustrating about this is that when King Princess executes on a song well, it’s exceptionally done. However, in the case of these songs, with boring hooks and tedious verses, they feel maddeningly endless.
Although those ballads don’t really work with the rest of the album, “Isabel’s Moment,” featuring the beautiful background vocals of Tobias Jesso Jr., is a soft piano ballad that tries to accept the end of a relationship. King Princess’s voice is brilliantly highlighted with just a simple piano in harmony with her. This is the most vulnerable that King Princess ever gets on the album, and it pays off immensely.
Two of the most effective songs of the album if not THE songs off the album, are “Prophet” and “Hit The Back”. With “Prophet”, this song continues the trend of obsession in thinking of someone that you’re really into. King Princess uses her breathy voice in a chorus that repeats itself over and over again, hammering home the message of the obsession over someone who you’re falling in love with. Extremely snappy and beat-heavy, this song is a great example of what can happen when King Princess takes great care into not only her lyrics, but the instrumentals that let this song soar. “Hit The Back” does the same thing as its chorus elevates the song from just any other alternative pop record to one that reflects the promise that King Princess still has yet to consistently use in her career.