Anyone who has ever been in love can attest that a lot of times, love is pain, and in certain cases, that pain and the heartbreak that comes along with it can feel like violence. As opposed to brutal, physical violence that oftentimes comes hand in hand with toxic masculinity, King Princess takes the time on her latest album, Girl Violence, to sing songs about the violence perpetrated by women, which King Princess, the stage name of singer and songwriter Mikaela Straus, describes as deeply emotional and sinister.
The album, which dropped today, is King Princess’ first release on independent label Section1, after releasing their previous two studio albums, 2019’s Cheap Queen and 2022’s Hold On Baby, on Mark Ronson’s label Zelig Records, a Columbia imprint.
The album is an interesting examination of contrasts between Straus’ lyrics bemoaning the aforementioned girl violence, and the exuberant pop and pop punk sonic inspirations that the musician draws from.
The album’s title track, “Girl Violence,” stands as a thesis statement for the rest of the album. In the song, Straus laments failed relationships, doomed friendships and overall heartbreak. It’s an album filled with a lot of anger and resentment that feels really personal.
“And I guess it’s true love, cuz it truly fucks with me,” King Princess sings on the album’s title track as it picks up.
The song also builds and builds, starting off with almost just Straus’ voice, singing about being “tired of crying, tired of trying,” and slowly adding more and more instrumentation—from an almost silent synth at the beginning, to crashing drums and a heavy bass at the song’s end, which immediately leads into one of my favorite tracks on the album, “Jamie,” a groovy, shoegaze-inspired, danceable earworm about a sort of unrequited love that is ultimately miserable and unwanted.
One of the album’s most sonically fun songs is “Cry Cry Cry,” about a friendship that turned sour. The song’s lyrics are filled with venom and anger, with King Princess singing that the song’s subject is going to “cry cry cry” when they hear it. It’s like listening to Straus release all of the pent up anger that they’ve felt, and listeners can feel just how cathartic it was for the singer and songwriter to pen the alt-pop track.
“Well fuck me, I thought we were friends, but you stay pretending. I talk shit when I’m with my band cuz your time is ending,” Straus sings in the song’s opening verse.
The album isn’t just anger and derision directed at others, on “Get Your Heart Broken,” Straus sings about the guarantee that a relationship with the singer will end in heartbreak in the chorus where she encourages someone that “You should fuck around, fuck around and get your heart broken.”
It’s not all heartbreak, anger and despair on Girl Violence, though. There’s plenty of light and love as well, especially on “I Feel Pretty,” a breezy, hopeful song that lifts up the beginning of Girl Violence.
The album continues to build momentum, with the odd track, like “Origin,” feeling a bit out of place, but it doesn’t take away from the overall solidness of King Princess’ third release.
Despite having 13 tracks, the album’s runtime is a quick 35 minutes, and it’s such a gratifying and cathartic listen that it feels even quicker, and left me wanting for a few more tracks because it was so fun to listen to.
Girl Violence is available on all streaming platforms.
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