LIL’ CHIEF RECORDS
PROUDLY ANNOUNCE…
THE IMMINENT RELEASE OF THE DEBUT ALBUM BY
PRINCESS CHELSEA – “LIL GOLDEN BOOK”
Princess Chelsea Auckland album release show
– Friday 6 May Wine Cellar
Princess Chelsea Wellington album release show
– Saturday 14 Mighty Mighty
And Download the single – name your price! here
“Lil’ Golden Book” will be a treat for all lovers of melody,
musicality and originality. Princess Chelsea has spent three years
getting this album just right and the result is an intriguing,
multi-layered album bursting with sweet synth-pop tunes. Though if you
listen a little closer, you might just hear something a little more
twisted and ominous coming to the surface…
Princess Chelsea is a female composer and bedroom recording artist.
Her early training was in classical music, but she gained her name as
a member of well-respected “circus punk” group, Teenwolf. She also
toured internationally as a member of the Brunettes during 2008 and
2009.
Rolling Stone has described Princess Chelsea’s music as “absolutely
sublime”, others have described it as “unique, eerie and ethereal” or
as if “Yann Tiersen composed the soundtrack to the next Wes Anderson
film”. However we at Lil’ Chief prefer to describe her music as “the
soundtrack to an old Disney movie meets Kraftwerk fronted by Enya in a
60s production of Les Mis… set in space”.
The album is a collection of stories about growing up as a teenager /
young adult in modern New Zealand and is given to us in the form of a
“Lil’ Golden Book”. Everyday situations of love, loss and petty
jealousies are presented as some kind of bizarre laymans fairy-tale.
On many of the tracks, Princess Chelsea’s lush, orchestral
arrangements are wryly juxtaposed with her dry, sardonic lyrics. This
is best displayed on “Overseas” (a duet with label mate Lawrence
Arabia) – a philosophical and slightly cynical take on the New Zealand
O.E. and truly one of the most original patriotic anthems we at Lil’
Chief have heard for a long time.
Princess Chelsea also duets with co-producer Jonathan Bree (The
Brunettes) in ‘The Cigarette Duet’, (a straight up 60s pop gem and her
most accessible moment on the album) – with a witty take on the issues
of cigarette smoking in a relationship.
Pretty pop-friendly ballads like ‘Too Fast To Live’ and ‘Yulia’ are
full of subtleties and surprises (a sly nod to the Dance Exponents,
quotes from an infamous 3 news interview) and are off-set by more off
beat and experimental arrangements like ‘Monkey Eats Bananas’ and
‘Caution Repetitive’.
The second half of Lil’ Golden Book maintains its melody-driven
musicality whilst venturing off into electronic territory with the
epic 70s sci-fi styled “Frack”, and glorious six-minute electronic
symphony “Goodnight Little Robot Child” – a high point on the album.
The closing track on the album “Ice Reign (Reprise)” – is an
instrumental lynch-esque reimagining of an earlier track (‘Ice Reign’)
and seems to tie the many musical elements presented on the album
(orchestral pop, classical, electronic, soundscape) back together
again for a glorious and beautiful finale.
WEBLINKS:
www.facebook.com/princess-chelsea
www.twitter.com/lilgoldenbook
www.lilchiefrecords.com
Lil’ Golden Book is released May 2nd, 2011 on Lil Chief Records / Rhythmethod
