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King Princess took to the Roseland’s stage for the first time since 2022 with a jump spin reminiscent of the physicality of Benson Boone. The charisma and energy of King Princess—born Mikaela Straus—helped the nearly sold-out crowd forget it was a Monday night. The 26-year-old’s wavy, lesbian modern mullet set her apart from her band, who all wore their long, straight hair in an androgynous amalgamation of ’70s rock-star and ’90s garage-band aesthetics.
King Princess’ set mostly came from her new album, Girl Violence, which was released last month. Taking on a grittier sound than her two previous pop-rock collections, Girl Violence explores sapphic loneliness. The strife-strangled breakup songs rang through with fewer catchy choruses and more power chords than her 2019 studio album Cheap Queen and 2022’s Hold On Baby, although she played crowd-pleasing numbers from both albums and her 2018 EP Make My Bed.
The shift in sound still holds space for fun. At one point, a giant die was brought onstage to select the set’s next song, with sides that read things like “Prophecy,” “Not Together” and “Band Shots,” which would have seen the band take liquor shots (Princess admitted this options got the musicians in trouble a couple of shows back). Princess ultimately opted to play the upbeat bop “Pain” despite how the die landed. Princess said the band’s guitar player, Lilly Graves, experienced some emotional girl violence of her own. A woman in the audience flashed her breasts at the stage in consolation.
King Princess’ artistic evolution included zero piano playing, making me wonder if her troubled piano prodigy character in the Nicole Kidman-helmed Hulu series 9 Perfect Strangers imitates her real-life artistry. With or without the keys, Princess is still nonnegotiably a musical talent. Be it through the electric or acoustic guitar, both of which she played, her musical growth is evident and seemingly embraced by her fanfare.
