Princess Chelsea
(Lil' Chief Records)
Packaging doesn't generally enter into my discussion of contemporary recorded matter. So I've been trying to remember a similar reaction to the one I'm having re: Princess Chelsea's debut CD. Oh, yeah: First time I saw/ran my hands over Cat Stevens' Tea for the Tillerman album cover. Also, a few years ago, purchasing a multi-CD compilation of girl group rarities that came in a circa-‘50s/‘60s, black-and-white striped hatbox. And so on. Still, I'm not over the design, artwork and packaging of Princess Chelsea's Lil' Golden Book... which looks and feels just like... guess what? This feels especially timely as Kindle and similar digital devices churn real books into unnecessary relics.
Princess Chelsea's sounds carry a chutzpah similar to that signaled by her moniker and presentation -- they're intensely precise, with fair amounts of space between sonic occurrences. Some are piano-anchored, with xylophone/bell tones; interlacing cabaret, gothic, and Montreal coffeehouse shoe-gaze styles. Little lacings of guitar reverb are placed meticulously, as if to say that they are precious. PC's little-girl vocals add a moderately unsettling element, although some of the strangeness feels conceptual (titles include "Ice Reign," "Monkey Eats Bananas," and "Goodnight Little Robot Child"). Lil' Golden Book could be the soundtrack to a Disney animation flick of an Edward Gorey tale; a flick that gets made in a parallel universe where Little Golden Books have become useless relics, and girls who make records with covers that look like Little Golden Books are black-stockinged outlaws. PC's joined on a couple songs by Lil Chief Records mates Jonathan Bree (The Brunettes) and Lawrence Arabia.
Although this all takes place in New Zealand, Lil' Golden Book is only occasionally hair-raising enough to bring Beautiful Creatures to mind. Among several moments of childlike brilliance is PC's dream-pop-ish "Too Fast to Live," in which she pleads, "Please... don't... drink... so much/Your mother would be sad/She's a nice lady/So show you deserve her/Or you're going to end up like your dad." Talk about a real-life horror story! "Cigarette Duet" could be another excellent way to drop the hint that you're tired of the guests at your latest shindig. Princess Chelsea seems a very opinionated young lady, and/or one who's watched and/or experienced a fair amount of dysfunctional relationship content. Sweet.
Now that you've read the book; here's the Reader's Digest version: PC would be an excellent adjunct to a Coco Rosie/Bjork concert. But she's not scary enough to open for The Residents: After analyzing her promising debut, they'd throw her in crumb cake and gobble her up for the fresh blood.
DOWNLOAD: "Overseas," "Frack," "Caution Repetitive," "Goodnight Little Robot Child," "Ice Reign (Reprise)" MARY LEARY
