New Zealand’s pop princess returns…
With new album The Loneliest Girl due for release soon, Princess Chelsea has given a glimpse into her latest musical outing in the form of new song ‘I Love My Boyfriend’.
When the album Lil’ Golden Book rocked up back in 2012, the curious delights of Princess Chelsea were unveiled. Although she’s probably best known for the indie pop charm of ‘The Cigarette Duet’, the album was dominated by an icy electronic collection of songs that Princess Chelsea’s record label rather accurately described as “the soundtrack to an old Disney movie meets Kraftwerk fronted by Enya in a 60s production of Les Mis… set in space”.
New Zealand-based Chelsea Nikkel (aka Princess Chelsea) has since kept a slow but steady output of music that continues along in a similar fashion. Her 2015 album The Great Cybernetic Depression took science fiction elements to build a concept album of sorts. The melancholic strains of songs such as ‘We’re So Lost’ were balanced out with the pure pop of tracks such as ‘Too Many People’.
As with Lil’ Golden Book, weaved into the mix are Chelsea’s musings on growing up in suburban New Zealand. This includes the hymnal qualities of ‘No Church On Sunday with its exploration of the role of religion and faith (Chelsea’s parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses).
Chelsea returned in 2016 with an album of covers in the form of Aftertouch. Here, she turned her talents to an eclectic choice of artists, including songs by Interpol, Elvis Presley, Lucinda Williams and The Beatles. The album also features Chelsea’s baroque pop approach to the Marianne Faithfull tune ‘Morning Sun’.
Now a new Princess Chelsea album in the form of The Loneliest Girl is on the horizon. Heralding this album is her latest composition ‘I Love My Boyfriend’ (which recently debuted via Noisey). As ever, Chelsea draws from an intriguing well of inspiration for her latest outing. In this case, there’s a combination of bubblegum pop and indie rock appeal.
As with many of Chelsea’s songs, nothing is entirely what it seems. The lyrics deal with having a boyfriend – while also having a crush on someone else. As with earlier tracks, the gentle arrangement and wistful vocals hide this darker aspect of her lyrics (‘Too Many People’ being an classic example).
Princess Chelsea will also be jetting out of New Zealand for an all new European tour this coming autumn. Judging by the quality of ‘I Love My Boyfriend’, we’re all in for a treat.
Princess Chelsea’s European tour will cover the following dates:
Soundrive Festival, Gdansk 31st Aug, IBoat, Bordeaux 7th Sept, Shacklewell Arms, London 9th Sept, Point Ephemere, Paris 12th Sept, Reflektor, Liege 18th Sept, Paradiso / Indiestad,
Amsterdam 19th Sept, Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg 20th Sept, Control Club, Bucharest 21st Sept,
Funkhaus / Indiesession, Berlin 22nd Sept, Beatpol, Dresden 23rd Sept, Jazzdock , Prague 25th Sept, Andel, Pilzen 26th, Christiania , Presov 27th Sept, Diera Do Sveta, Liptovsky Mikulas 28th Sept, Cooltour, Ostrava 29th Sept, Fleda, Brno 1st Oct, Kalingrad, Geneva 4th Oct, Fuzz Club, Athens 5th Oct.
http://princesschelsea.lilchiefrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wonderfulprincesschelsea/
https://twitter.com/lilgoldenbook
