The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Bop or Flop?!
By Felix Nguyen (unprofessional album reviewer)
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is the first studio album ever released by Chappell Roan, an upcoming singer and songwriter from the US. Since its release in 2023, the album has surpassed an impressive number of over 1 BILLION streams, which is an unbelievable number for an album that’s only been out for less than a full year (at the time of writing). With 14 songs and 49 minutes in total, is the album actually as good as they say?
The tracklist is as follows:
- Femininomenon (E)
- Red Wine Supernova (E)
- After Midnight
- Coffee
- Casual (E)
- Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl
- HOT TO GO!
- My Kink is Karma
- Picture You
- Kaleidoscope
- Pink Pony Club
- Naked in Manhattan (E)
- California
- Guilty Pleasure
After listening to the entire album, I can definitely tell you that it’s something worth listening to. It’s sort of a mishmash between upbeat, dancey pop songs (like Naked in Manhattan, Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl, and Femininomenon) and devastatingly vulnerable ballads (Coffee, Picture You, and California). There’s also the evil third option of Casual, which is sort of like a ballad but also incredibly catchy in the most heart wrenching way possible (but that’s for a different article for a different time). The way the tracks are arranged are interesting as well; the sad is placed in between the happy and it sort of creates this strange yet harmonious balance of both of these extremely conflicting genres in the best way possible. This–Grr–Woof–Argh–is a masterpiece. I like it so very much.
On the album, Roan sings about her experiences with her romantic life. The tracks feature a lot of her own personal feelings, such as disappointment with mediocre guys, reflecting on past relationships that didn’t end so well, and a lot of self-discovery of her queer identity. I feel like we as the listeners have just been given a sneak peak of the inner workings of Chappell Roan’s mind. It’s fun, it’s wild, but it’s also extremely delicate and sensitive. You get to come along and hear about her experiences and feelings through an absolute rollercoaster of emotions.
A few tracks that really stand out to me are My Kink Is Karma, Red Wine Supernova, and Kaleidoscope. They’re so uniquely written and produced in comparison to one another that I find it slightly difficult to believe that these three are all from the same studio album (not that it’s a bad thing, though!), but they still bring an incredibly enjoyable listening experience. Somehow, they all fit together like a jigsaw puzzle of the world’s most complicated dating life. One moment, you’re crushing on someone and all you want them to do is fall right into you, and the next, you’re reflecting on the time you’ve lost in that relationship and kinda praying for their downfall. If you know, you know.
I must say though, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is rather different from the rest of Roan’s pre-existing discography. It’s nearly a complete 180 from School Nights, one of Roan’s previous EPS released in 2017, which had a more alternative, indie sound compared to the synth-pop-esque music that she now makes. Despite the change in genre, however, Roan still keeps a personal element to her lyrics. Of course, this change makes her debut album more unique and memorable, while still very much reflecting who Chappell Roan is as an artist.
To be very honest, I’ve never listened to anything that exudes this type of energy before. It’s sort of ‘stereotypical teenage girl skipping around a shopping mall’, while also being ‘teenage girl lamenting in her bedroom’. This is all I’ve ever really wanted in any piece of media, that ability to be vulnerable while still staying silly. Personally, I think this is the pinnacle of synth-pop music. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is probably (in my own, humble opinion) the best album released in the good year of 2023. It makes me feel slightly guilty that it took me an entire year to finally listen to and review this album. At first, I was skeptical about it because I thought it was just another mediocre album made for the purpose of going viral, but now that I’ve experienced it in full, I feel like I can say definitively that it is a worthy listen to those who are interested in or enjoy the genre. Overall, I’d give it a score of 4.5 out of 5 on the unofficial yet official ‘bop or flop’ scale, making The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess a certified bop. This is all personal opinion though, so feel free to give it your own personal rating once you’ve finished listening to it. Have fun, and enjoy!
