Princess
Self Titled
4.6
Chicago’s Princess want you to know that they’re odd. They try really hard to make that clear. Whether it’s naming their two man band Princess, their pink album cover, or the fact that they pose for pictures in porn mustaches and some kind of tutu/skirt thing, the message is obvious. What we have here is arty, self indulgent coffeehouse jackassery of the highest order. I am not sure of the names of the two members of the band, but I have come to think of them as “Artsy” and “Fartsy”. Not that weird is any kind of impediment--all of this would be absolutely fine if the band could back up their eccentricities with interesting music, but Princess just can’t get the job done. To approximate the sound of the band, combine Beck and Ween, then siphon off about 75% of the talent. What you get is arty indie noise rock and white boy hip hop. And I do mean white—like Barenaked Ladies white. The vocals are what make this album such a chore. The music is considerably more interesting, consisting of an arsenal of instrumentation both real and sampled. “Dusty” combines a rare moment of actual singing with lazy, looping Odelay melodies and creates the most enjoyable moment on the album. The band is not without talent and seems capable of producing something more satisfying (or at least less annoying) than their debut effort, but in either case the band is unlikely to find much support amongst the MetalReview readership.
