Chappell Roan The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess 2LP

Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums of 2023 - Rated 12/100!

Analog Planet Rated 9/10 Music, 8/10 Sound!

Bold pop hooks, sex positivity, honest songwriting and a heavy dose of glitter make up the world of Chappell Roan, the next multi-faceted force in pop music. A technicolor celebration of self-discovery and transformation, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess tracks Chappell's cinematic journey of falling in queer love for the first time, while embracing all the messy and imperfect moments in-between. Penned by Roan alongside Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo).

Bold and fearless, Chappell Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is the best kind of pop album: it captures a generational zeitgeist and introduces the world to a refreshing new voice that can hopefully stand the test of time and a fickle industry.

Roan combines brutal honesty with unbridled passion in a way that sometimes startles, but always sounds luscious.

The best debut album of the year, and a strong contender for the best pop album, period, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is unbridled, unselfconscious fun. But the true appeal is Roan's alluring voice paired with lyrics that range from flirty to naughty to heartbreaking and back.

Between the scathing ballads and Robyn-esque bangers, Roan will convince you to relish those bad decisions.

I will admit that, going into this review, I more than half-expected The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess to fall pretty far from an audiophile listening experience. I was thus pleasantly surprised when I took the standard-weight black vinyl pressing out of its plastic-lined audiophile-grade inner sleeve and put the LP on my turntable to hear a pretty great-sounding album! So much for my preconceptions and judgey audiophile-baggage expectations. (My bad, as they say.) ... Part of what makes The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess work as an album listen is its sequencing and diversity. Just when you think you might be getting tired of the dance aesthetic, Roan and friends mix things up. This was never more impactful than on the country-western tinged 'Picture You' (Side B, Track 4), which feels like a cross between Linda Ronstadt and k.d. lang. (And I'm dead serious about that, folks!) This is followed by the gorgeous ballad 'Kaleidoscope' (Side B, Track 5), which again shows off Roan's very serious vocal skills! And then there's 'California' (Side C, Track 3), which is a cinemascopic anthem with some wonderful rolling drum sequences. Make no mistake: Chappell Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is indeed a fine debut album. This is an artist who is very much deserving of the attention she is getting, and I'm looking forward to watching Chappell Roan's career unfold further — as well as hearing whatever music she releases on vinyl next.