King Princess has once again proven she cannot grow out of creating pitiful songs longing for her exes with her third album, “Girl Violence,” released on Sept. 12. This album’s 13 songs and 34-minute runtime are its saving grace — any longer and listeners would be put to sleep by the superficial, sappy lyrics repeated to no end.
The title track reveals King Princess has unfortunately experienced intimate partner violence. While this is a shock to her, as she questions, “Why does nobody mention that girls can be violent,” IPV is rampant in the lesbian community, with 63% of women reporting they have experienced it. The 2-minute-15-second, sorrowful song felt entirely too long, with multiple elementary lines being repeated up to six times.
The next two tracks, “Jamie” and “Origin,” bring some intensity to the album with their resounding drums and heavy basslines. The instrumentals thankfully drown out the dull lyrics of “Jamie” towards the end, and the synths and violins of “Origin” are an enchanting sound for sore ears.
The only thing that sets “I Feel Pretty” apart from the rest of the album’s songs is the allusion to substance abuse in the last stanza. Otherwise, it is yet another instance of King Princess crying over a situationship gone wrong.
The next four songs, “Cry Cry Cry,” “Get Your Heart Broken,” “Girls” and “Covers,” are near unlistenable with how abysmal the lyricism gets. The first is the worst with its chorus being “You’re gonna cry, cry, cry when you hear this / And I’ll say whatever.” The songwriting is akin to “KIDZ BOP gone bad.” It is what you expect a melodramatic teenager lamenting over their high school breakups to create.
“Say What You Will” and “RIP KP” are the highlights of this release, which is not saying much. The former has the only feature of the album, making Joe Talbot’s words a much needed breath of fresh air. In the latter, King Princess speaks of an ongoing relationship. This song is erotic, intense and edgy — encapsulating what the entire album should have been with a title like “Girl Violence.”
Listeners are only let down once more after hearing the next track, “Alone Again.” The opening lines are a prime example of the on-the-nose lyricism that an established artist like King Princess should have grown out of by her sophomore album, “Hold On Baby.” The lyrics stating “All my friends said, ‘Don’t instigate her’ / But I did it and now we’re right here” on a beat does not make it music. This song should have been a voice memo to her close friends. Her record label should have cut her studio time short.
“Slow Down and Shut Up” seems like it will bring some energy to the album with its immediate pop-punk sound, but King Princess starts singing. The chorus, “Slow down and shut up / Cause it’s you that I want,” is unimaginative and played out. All King Princess ever does in her songs is want someone, but nine times out of ten, they do not want her back.
The final song, “Serena,” is yet another lamentable ballad about pining and yearning that cannot come any sooner. It is a disappointing snoozefest to end a monotonous album.
“Girl Violence” should have been a sapphic, pop-punk masterpiece skirting the edge of acceptability with lecherous lyrics detailing forbidden flings. Instead, it was a pathetic display of yet another miserable lesbian who cannot get over her exes.
Its release, coming three years after her last album, should have given King Princess ample time to grow her songwriting skills. A little bit of nuance, some double entendres and a handful of metaphors would have done wonders for “Girl Violence,” but the album was nearly devoid of lyrical merit. Incredible instrumentals have been wasted on an unremarkable album by the so-called “pop-singer” King Princess.
