King Princess moves from strength to strength with latest single ‘Change the Locks’

‘Change the Locks’ is the final single from King Princess’ much anticipated second album ‘Hold On Baby’, and she’s definitely saved the best for last. 

Having spent a lot of their childhood watching their father engineer at Mission Sound Studios in Brooklyn, Mikaela Strauss was developing their musical identity from a young age, learning from the best. 

Now as queer-pop extraordinaire King Princess, she’s already made their mark, developing a dedicated audience within the LGBTQ+ community and the world at large. This year alone she's played some of the world’s biggest stages supporting Shawn Mendes, Kacey Musgraves, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers -  and their latest single indicates she has no intention of stopping!

‘Change the Locks’ begins with a gentle ambiance, followed by a warm melodic bass line underlining a soothing texture of folk instruments. In particular, a breathy woodwind instrument weaves a melody straight from a lullaby to accompany Mikaele Strauss’ trademark raw story-telling.  This is a song filled with the messy emotions break-ups cause: mourning, defiance, vulnerability, and yearning. The chorus hits like a lover scorned, managing to contain both the anger and the hollowness that these kinds of experiences leave you feeling. 

Co-written with The National’s Aaron Dessner, you can definitely hear his influence - the aforementioned delicate, folkier opening acts as a poetic contrast to the explosive chorus. It’s a match made in heaven it seems. With particularly hard-hitting lyrics like “You’ve had your heart and body turn to someone’s hobby”  juxtaposed with lines like the opening “I have had a million bodies and mostly it’s been awesome” you end up with a break-up song that captures something more; refreshingly nuanced and anthemic in its delivery.

With this single, King Princess easily solidifies their place as one of the most exciting voices in pop; willing to open the Pandora’s Box of the human experience in all its nuance and in doing so create something special.

Ashley Garrod

@ashleygarrodbass

Image: ‘Hold On Baby / Change the Locks’ Official Single Cover