Chappell Roan Makes a Dazzling Debut With ‘The Rise & Fall of a Midwest Princess’
Thalia Eyles
In a proper tour de force of a debut album, Chappell Roan reaches incredible emotional highs in exploring rebellion, self-discovery, reflection, and no shortage of fun.
Photo by Ryan Clemens
The Rise & Fall of a Midwest Princess opens hot with “Femininomenon;” a track that lets you in on the secret of exactly how catchy and high-energy the album is about to be. The song begins like a ballad and the verses remain descriptive and storytelling before completely switching gears to the hype, dance-beat-driven chorus without ever feeling disjointed. “Femininomenon” is both emotional and carefree, coming with a spoken bridge, reminiscent of a cheerleader’s call-and-response interaction with a crowd that shows up many more times as the album persists.
Chappell keeps up the energy in live performances with impressive stamina. She engages with the crowd in “HOT TO GO!” where she encourages the audience to throw themselves into a reciprocal performance, chanting along and spelling the title with their arms in the obscenely catchy chorus à la “YMCA” by the Village People.
This album truly has a song for every situation and mood; Roan has an undeniable range. “Coffee” is a true anthem about confusion in a relationship and an inability to control yourself around a person. She confesses that she’d “rather feel something than nothing at all” and she certainly feels a lot throughout the album, all of which she can commit to words with uncommon raw honesty.
She persists in this honesty in the fifth track, “Casual,” confessing her feelings in great detail. Along with broken daydreams and her struggle between the girl she is trying to be for someone and the girl she ultimately is. This continues further in “Picture You” where she divulges the image she has crafted of a romantic partner and begs for the same kind of honesty in return.
But this authenticity is in no way limited to a ballad; the positively scathing “My Kink is Karma” professes the honest glee that, while admittedly “insanely toxic,” can be found in spite that no one wants to talk about. Chappell Roan says what you wish you could say to your worst enemy or your worst ex all with a display of great vocal range over a beat that shows absolute mastery of a drum machine in Dan Nigro’s production.
She also explores both sides of the experience of going off on your own into the world for the first time far away from home in “Pink Pony Club,” paired with the more melancholy “California.” “Pink Pony Club” is a synth power ballad that captures the exhilaration and fear that comes along with leaving familiarity to create your own life. Roan has the perspective and self-awareness to delve into the nuances of this experience in “California:” the anthem for Los Angeles transplants especially. She wrestles with self-doubt with making such a leap and disappointment with impossible expectations and visions for herself. She portrays the more vulnerable side to the rebellious experiences she touches on often in the poppier upbeat tracks on the album.
The Rise & Fall of a Midwest Princess is an incredibly impressive debut album that has already crushed it this year on tour with many sold-out dates. No doubt it will prove to be an exceptional next few months for Chappell Roan as she embarks on the international tour dates and subsequent second American tour before supporting fellow pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo on her GUTS tour. No one is doing it quite like Chappell Roan and this album proves that she is certainly a rising star to watch.
