{"id":1276,"date":"2019-11-08T00:50:43","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T00:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wers.org\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/"},"modified":"2019-11-08T00:50:43","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T00:50:43","slug":"kingprincess-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/","title":{"rendered":"King Princess Excites and Disappoints in ‘Cheap Queen’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n

\"King<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\n

by Annie Wojnarowski<\/p>\n

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\u2019s album, Cheap Queen<\/em><\/a>, sets its sights at achieving just that, however, she falls just short. <\/p>\n

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, \u201c1950<\/a>,\u201d 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 \u201cTalia\u201d<\/a> and \u201cPussy is God\u201d<\/a>. Cheap Queen<\/em>, which was released on October 25th, is her first full-length album. <\/p>\n

Opening with a song that sets the tone of the album, King Princess professes her neuroticism in \u201cTough on Myself\u201d<\/a>. A dream-pop opener, this reflects the headspace of someone who can\u2019t get someone else out of their head. Repeating \u201cI was thinking you and I could get together \/ I was thinking maybe you could do me better\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

The namesake of the album, \u201cCheap Queen\u201d<\/a> 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\u2019ve seen in her previous singles and EPs. <\/p>\n

As the album progresses, it becomes marred by filler. Trying to establish ballads, \u201cAin\u2019t Together\u201d<\/a>, \u201cHomegirl\u201d<\/a>, \u201cWatching My Phone\u201d<\/a> and \u201cYou Destroyed My Heart\u201d<\/a> 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\u2019s exceptionally done. However, in the case of these songs, with boring hooks and tedious verses, they feel maddeningly endless. <\/p>\n

Although those ballads don\u2019t really work with the rest of the album, \u201cIsabel\u2019s Moment,\u201d <\/a>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\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

Two of the most effective songs of the album if not THE songs off the album, are \u201cProphet\u201d<\/a> and \u201cHit The Back\u201d<\/a>. With \u201cProphet\u201d, this song continues the trend of obsession in thinking of someone that you\u2019re 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\u2019re 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. \u201cHit The Back\u201d 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For an album to both accurately depict the experience of being a queer\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-1276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-album-review"],"yoast_head":"\nKing Princess Excites and Disappoints in 'Cheap Queen' - wecb<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"King Princess Excites and Disappoints in 'Cheap Queen' - wecb\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For an album to both accurately depict the experience of being a queer\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"wecb\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-08T00:50:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"webadmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"webadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"webadmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#\/schema\/person\/c46ba3f7f9fe9c03fa23354d226a97a9\"},\"headline\":\"King Princess Excites and Disappoints in ‘Cheap Queen’\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-08T00:50:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/\"},\"wordCount\":642,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Album Review\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/\",\"name\":\"King Princess Excites and Disappoints in 'Cheap Queen' - wecb\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-08T00:50:43+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":2000,\"caption\":\"exc-5dc49f4f853fca395c0a2f7f\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"King Princess Excites and Disappoints in ‘Cheap Queen’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/\",\"name\":\"wecb\",\"description\":\"The Underground Sound of Emerson College\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#organization\",\"name\":\"wecb\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/05\/BlIvEz0B_400x400.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/05\/BlIvEz0B_400x400.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"wecb\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#\/schema\/person\/c46ba3f7f9fe9c03fa23354d226a97a9\",\"name\":\"webadmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69ce876dbf64a439233868c95c707278a3886908f0b6e1169e431baa2c3cb615?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69ce876dbf64a439233868c95c707278a3886908f0b6e1169e431baa2c3cb615?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"webadmin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/author\/webadmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"King Princess Excites and Disappoints in 'Cheap Queen' - wecb","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"King Princess Excites and Disappoints in 'Cheap Queen' - wecb","og_description":"For an album to both accurately depict the experience of being a queer\u2026","og_url":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/","og_site_name":"wecb","article_published_time":"2019-11-08T00:50:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":2000,"url":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"webadmin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"webadmin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/"},"author":{"name":"webadmin","@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#\/schema\/person\/c46ba3f7f9fe9c03fa23354d226a97a9"},"headline":"King Princess Excites and Disappoints in ‘Cheap Queen’","datePublished":"2019-11-08T00:50:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/"},"wordCount":642,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare.jpg","keywords":["Album Review"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/","url":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/","name":"King Princess Excites and Disappoints in 'Cheap Queen' - wecb","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare.jpg","datePublished":"2019-11-08T00:50:43+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare.jpg","width":2000,"height":2000,"caption":"exc-5dc49f4f853fca395c0a2f7f"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/kingprincess-review\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"King Princess Excites and Disappoints in ‘Cheap Queen’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/","name":"wecb","description":"The Underground Sound of Emerson College","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#organization","name":"wecb","url":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/05\/BlIvEz0B_400x400.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/05\/BlIvEz0B_400x400.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"wecb"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#\/schema\/person\/c46ba3f7f9fe9c03fa23354d226a97a9","name":"webadmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69ce876dbf64a439233868c95c707278a3886908f0b6e1169e431baa2c3cb615?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69ce876dbf64a439233868c95c707278a3886908f0b6e1169e431baa2c3cb615?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"webadmin"},"url":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/author\/webadmin\/"}]}},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1,"label":"Uncategorized"}],"post_tag":[{"value":21,"label":"Album Review"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2019\/11\/KingPrincessSquare-1024x1024.jpg",1024,1024,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"webadmin","author_link":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/author\/webadmin\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":1,"name":"Uncategorized","slug":"uncategorized","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":877,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1,"category_count":877,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Uncategorized","category_nicename":"uncategorized","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":21,"name":"Album Review","slug":"album-review","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":166,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}