The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
By: Amanda Sykes-Quirk
Genre: Dance-pop/Pop
The iconic debut studio album that shook the internet and boosted the artist who was just an opener to selling out stadiums. I may be biased in this, but Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is the perfect album. A mix of heartbreak, growing up, raunchy undertones, and all the fun in the world. With a voice like an angel, Chappell brings us into her world, and I truly can never pull myself out of it. You may know her because you H O T T O G O’D in 2024, but you must stay for the Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl of it all. Let’s get into the album and artist that seems to find me at just the right moments.
Femininomenon is the perfect opening track. It immediately brings you in with the beautiful string intro. The piano that builds into loud, vibrant sounds makes you just drool over the way she throws her voice up, down, right, left, and all around. Not the most poppy of all the tracks, but a perfect middle ground that introduces you to Chappell’s vibe without throwing it all in your face. Just as you think she brought the energy down, she brings it right back up as she demands to play a f*cking beat. The perfect way to end this powerhouse of an opening track.
Immediately, you’re welcomed by her beautiful vocals as Red Wine Supernova continues the upbeat vibe, but now she’s turned up the notch. This is in my top three on this album; it’s just so fun. The instrumentals perfectly complement her voice as always. Serban Ghenae is a genius at mixing; the little adlibs like “uh uh girl” intertwined in her songs are just so essentially Chappell.
The club-like atmosphere she uses to open After Midnight tells you exactly what you’re in for. By just listening to this track, I think you could understand what it’s like to be at a bar, and maybe having a bit too much fun. In my opinion, this isn’t the strongest of her tracks. It’s not by any means bad; it just sits in this middle of high and low energy that I don’t particularly enjoy. However, it is an essential transition from two of the album's highs to the lower, more melodic tracks that follow.
Just a punch to the gut. After my first-ever breakup, Coffee was on repeat. This girl details my heartbreaks better than anyone else. Her vocals are, of course, insane and just perfection. I really love the guitar that follows her throughout the track; it really brings in the personal feel we need to sob in peace. The background vocals layered over hers are my favorite part of this entire track; I could just listen to them for hours. And yes, it’s never just coffee.
Just when you wipe your tears, Casual slaps you in the face, reminding you of your darkest moments. This song found me again when I was going through my first situationship, so maybe I have an emotional connection to it. The slow, continuous drums throughout the song are the perfect instrumental choice to remind you of the cycle a terrible situationship entails. It’s just perfect; the way she tosses her vocals around at the end just screams heartache.
Super Graphic Ultra-Modern Girl is my absolute favorite track, and possibly a top ten song of all time for me. I love it so much that I quoted it on my high school grad cap. The most explosive pop track on this album, giving me everything I need and more. The first time I listened to this album, I listened to this song on repeat for two hours alone. Okay, enough about how much I love it; let’s get into what makes it so, so, so good.
The beginning makes you feel like you’re chatting with her about how terrible dating is. Then she brings you into this explosion of loud vocals and instrumentals to match. Her playfulness is unmatched, and it really mirrors the fresh-out-of-a-committed-relationshipip feeling. Specifically, the continuous use of her “lalalalas” is just so playful and fun. She really doesn’t leave any ounce of pop out of this one, and it will forever have a special place in my heart.
Where everyone knows Chappell from, HOT TO GO is not only iconic but genius. It’s addictive to everyone because it's just that good. It makes you not want to, but NEED to dance. As she instructs you to snap and clap and touch your toes, she builds into yet another explosion of pop. In all honesty, I haven’t listened to this song in a minute because hearing it on TikTok every two scrolls was just too much for me. It does have one of my favorite outros of all the tracks, where she is just as exasperated as every listener after dancing so hard.
I think the most underrated track on Midwest Princess, My Kink is Karma, is a testament to how talented her lyricism is. My best friend and I love this song, so maybe I’m super biased. It just speaks to my soul so clearly, because yes, I am wishing you the best in the worst way. She has such a fun way of being hateful that I am just obsessed with. Her vocals, to nobody’s surprise, are insane, yet again. When she throws a “you” after every verse, it’s just so, so, so good. Utterly obsessed.
The most intimate track, Picture You, is kinky in all the good ways and leaves nothing behind in execution. If you just listened to the instrumentals, you would think, “Oh, this must be such a sad song.” However, it’s an amazing deception as she details her imagination in all of its raunchiness. The imagery she gives brings you fully into her mind and spares nothing. The lower range she uses makes it feel even dirtier.
The biggest gut punch ever. So, imagine this: you’re getting in your car after breaking up with your first boyfriend, and Kaleidoscope plays. BOOM sobbing. So that was me about three years ago. It is the perfect breakup track. Beautiful not only in the instruments, but just the heartbreak in her voice makes it all the better. I am a fiend for a string-led song, so I really have nothing negative to say. I think nobody could describe love in a better way than she does in this one.
The first Chappell song that ever graced my presence, Pink Pony Club, was the best introduction I could’ve asked for. You know you’re getting something good just from the piano intro. As soon as you’re thinking it’s going to be a ballad, she pulls you back into the pop universe again. The seamless transition from the sad, emotional version of Chappell, confessing her mother's disappointment in her leaving, to the one who’s the new life she left home for. I have a special place in my heart for a guitar solo, so for me, one was long overdue. And I am not disappointed when it finally arrives at the outro.
From the phone call intro, you already know you’re in for a treat. Bringing us from heartbreak to having a crush again, Naked in Manhattan perfectly describes what it’s like to fall for someone. This track was on repeat for my friends and I my freshman year. To me, it’s not only about describing her first crushes after whoever she lost in Kaleidoscope, but also about finding this new city and deepening the identity she’s forming away from home. Her beyond-impressive vocal range, and the effortlessness it provides, is one of my favorite things about her as an artist. Her even just repeating "-Touch Me-" over and over somehow still sounds so good. If I had vocals like that, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.
As the album name warns, we have finally reached the “fall of the Midwest Princess”. California details how not everything can be as sparkly and glamorous as the Chappell on all the poppier tracks. There is a side of her that failed and misses the life she left behind. It’s the least “produced” track on the album and feels like she’s just singing to you. I really enjoy this breath of fresh air she provides, just being able to hear her. It is also an amazing way to remind the listener that her talent is not just pop; she could take down any genre if she wanted to.
Just as we think she’s leaving us on a sorrow note, we get right back to the Chappell we’re used to. Guilty Pleasure is so fun and full of life, and just as raunchy as we would hope. It's like she’s saying bye and reminding us that the fall isn’t forever; the princess is on the rise again. I would say this isn’t my favorite track on the album; it just doesn’t give as much pop as I like, but I know that’s intentional for the outro track. The end, though, is just as produced, reintroducing the background vocals and unconventional instrumentals we heard on earlier tracks.
The Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess is a no-skip album: I can, and have listened to it from beginning to end on multiple occasions, on repeat. Chappell is not only an amazing lyricist and musician but also a performer. Seeing her perform these songs in person gave them a new life that I didn’t think was possible. This album has a way of finding me at my lows and breathing life back into me. I’m sure you’ve listened to at least one of the tracks I just talked about, but if you haven’t listened to all of them, you know what you should be doing for the next 49 minutes, and you’re in for an amazing ride!
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