Lil’ Golden Book
Auckland, New Zealand
“Chelsea, crowned princess of the land known as melancholy”
Princess Chelsea is in some ways unnerving. With a fully illustrated insert and a complete adherence to its Lil’ Golden Book theme (yes, the pop culture reference of children’s cardboard literature is apparently universal), her record (titled after said brand of childhood nostalgia) is essentially a glimpse at the life of the universal 20-something through the lens of a nursery rhyme. Princess Chelsea is musically sparse and often times ambient, with variable electro beats bubbling slowly under minor chord changes and xylophone melodies.
Most of the songs could easily be placed as background filler music for a lo-fi Disney film; however, it’s the lyrical content that sets Princess Chelsea apart. With themes ranging from alcoholism, to the desire to leave New Zealand, to the day in day out struggles of a slightly dysfunctional relationship, Princess Chelsea adds a blunt reverse optimism to the emotional redundancy of life. If children’s books are meant to let us clearly and plainly understand the simplicities of the world around us as a child, Princess Chelsea’s Lil’ Golden Book is meant to let us clearly and plainly accept the emotional simplicity of the world around us now that we’ve lived a little. (Lil’ Chief Records)