Alexis Gideon and Michael O'Neill, a.k.a. Princess, specialize in a form of art-rap that clearly demonstrates their pedigrees in performance art and classical music theory. Having relocated to Chicago from the East Coast, the duo have released their self-titled debut on the elusive tonychaosrecords. Princess is a ten-song opus of dubiously epic proportions that does much to further the case for applying late twentieth-century postmodern theory and structural aesthetics to music. Furthermore, Princess is a record of brilliant, thought-provoking mutant hip hop that never flags in its seductive eclecticism. An album comprising equal parts rap, electro experimentation, death metal, and overtones of progressive rock, Princess can easily be considered one of the most intriguing and endearing records to be released this year. It is unfortunate that the album will likely never get the exposure it deserves, but it's well worth the listen if it can be acquired.
As cliché as it may sound, Princess truly defies any sort of comparison. The rap vocals found herein utilize a sort of whiplash, schizoid, "word salad" delivery that, stylistically, is vaguely reminiscent of Outkast (although no more than maybe half of the record contains vocal pieces). On "Miss Adventures," the record's second track, the vocals recall the adenoidal whine of Soul Coughing's Mike Doughty or perhaps Clouddead's Why?. By turns nightmarish and hilarious, lyrics like "these punks on junk it stunk I mean it stank/ walk the plank dank stank crank laughing to the bank" are just over-the-top enough to work, though you'll have a difficult time following them without the liner notes. Fractured, tortuous guitar playing is the order of the day on the album as well. What initially may sound sloppy and amateurish may later reveal itself to be both intentional and brilliantly melodic. Princess' guitar playing seems to adhere to an angular No Wave/post-punk sensibility. Elsewhere on the record a variety of seemingly random musical instruments and kitchen-sink percussion make themselves heard, sometimes in a no-less-than-clamorous fashion. Princess' flirtation with country and western textures and instruments calls to mind Beck's excursions into the genre as well (though the irony here is infinitely more evident than even the releases of Beck).
Another characteristic of Princess is the duo's tendency to jump from genre to genre on the fly, sometimes several times a minute, a la Mr. Bungle or Fantômas. Princess is probably better thought of, however, as an art rap/pseudo-rock opera than a series of individual songs. Though highly unusual and diverse in its themes and structural idiosyncrasies, Princess gels together into a cohesive whole much more effectively than one would expect from such an experimental release. Balancing humor and serious musicianship is often a difficult and unsuccessful endeavor. Nevertheless, it is the duo's ability to balance the two so effectively that makes Princess such a successful release. As Princess, Gideon and O'Neill have released a wondrous record that lends itself as much to being a party album as it does to musical analysis.
1. Autograph
2. Miss Adventures
3. Springsteen
4. Buildings
5. Dylan
6. Stroller Controller
7. Dusty
8. Little League
9. Ra Ra
10. Promised Land
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