A Synthesized World

The budding alternative trio Princess Goes just released their sophomore album, Come of Age, closing out two years of anticipation after their debut album Thanks for Coming. Lead vocalist Michael C. Hall, drummer Peter Yanowitz and keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen have crafted a collection of tracks that will make the name Princess Goes, now shortened from Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum, one to remember.

From the very first seconds, it becomes fairly evident how the rest of the album will be comprised, at least it does certainly in hindsight after listening to all 12 tracks. A low drone develops into a strong synth in the opening track “Offering” and after close to a minute of buildup, a sporadic melody is established and a driving backbeat comes in. If the introduction wasn’t enough to solidify the vibe, a wild synth solo after the first set of lyrics certainly does. The trend continues with the rest of the tracks, as the group masterfully utilizes synthesizers to their advantage to craft different sounds that set them apart. Many different genres are tapped into, with flashes of synthwave on tracks like “Whatever Whispers” and “Jetpack” and elements of alternative synth pop on “Blur” and “Let it Go.” Even traditionally rock driven instruments have been given the synth treatment like the guitar solo on “Glasswing” and the choral pad used in “Take Me Home,” both treated with different effects to blend them with the soundscape around them.

Although the masterful use of the synthesizer certainly takes center stage, that’s not to say that it outshines the other aspects of the album. Rather, it complements the other strong qualities, of which there are many to be heard. Truly, the trio covers all of their bases and then some. Firstly, it would be a disservice to the band not to mention the tasteful and effective drumming on the album done by Peter Yanowitz. On every track, the drums never outshine the melodic elements and yet they are always doing the difficult job of keeping the track interesting. Yanowitz knows when to lay back, or even out, if needed, like on the final track “Floating” where brushes are utilized over drumsticks. On the other side of things, the drums completely influence the grooves, like the previous track “Whatever Whispers,” where the listener is taken on a journey through a synth driven reggaeton beat, to a synthwave breakdown and back again. In the front of the mix, the vocals laid down by Michael C. Hall are always a treat. It’s been said that if you don’t have a strong melody, you don’t have anything and it appears that Princess Goes has quite a lot in that regard. Hall’s sweet vocal tone and well written melody lines drive the choruses of tracks like “Let it Go” and “Take Me Home.”