When listening to Chappell Roan (the artist behind the album), you immediately want to learn all the lyrics so that you can sing along. When I first stumbled across her music, the song automatically got stuck in my head, and I couldn’t help singing a snip of it now and then. And when I listened to her thirteen-song album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, I was not disappointed.
The album starts with three iconic songs, Feminiomenon, Red Wine Supernova, and After Midnight. One thing these songs have in common is that they’re all very upbeat and have easily memorable lyrics. If you listen to them several times, you can sing along with her as she talks about modern-day relationships and scandalous behavior.
Song four, Coffee, might be one of my least favorite songs on this album, not because it’s terrible, but because it lacks the aspect of Roan’s music that I like the most, which is the quirky, almost eighties-like music and it’s just too slow for my liking.
Casual though, song five of thirteen is a different story. It’s a slower-paced song like Coffee, but the casual vibe is way catchier and more likable
for me. Her experience is so specific you can’t help but want to sing along and relate, even if you can’t. With every chorus, Roan also doesn’t fail to hit the perfect high notes either.
Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl, HOT TO GO!, and My Kink Is Karma, songs six through eight are some of my favorites on the album. Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl and HOT TO GO! are both super upbeat and catchy, the lyrics are easily understandable and the beats are unique like usual. My Kink Is Karma is one of my tops though, it’s a bit of a slower song but the background music and beats along with her lyrics are simply perfect.
Picture You and Kaleidescope are two of my least favorites alongside Coffee. They are slower, but aside from that they are just lacking for me. Maybe it’s because I don’t relate or because they weren’t made for me, but something about these two doesn’t hit the spot, not like how say Casual or My Kink Is Karma do.
Then there’s Pink Pony Club, the longest song of the album. This one caused a lot of mixed emotions for me, but I think overall I liked it. It starts with a slower piano tune that picks up as the song goes until the initial beat drops, which makes the whole song good.
The final songs of the album, Naked In Manhattan, California, and Guilty Pleasure are good, but nothing to write home about. Not to say that these songs were bad necessarily, they just lacked the things I enjoy, which are a good beat and lyrics that are easily interpreted.
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess paints a picture of a small-town girl practicing uncommon acts now that she’s out in the world, and I think this album captures that well. With its upbeat tunes and memorable lyrics, it’s hard not to enjoy this album.
This album has earned a total of 4 out of 5 paws.
