‘Chew My Cheeks’ is an indie disco floor-filler that shows there is much more to Prima Queen than may have initially met the eye.
Words: Lloyd Bolton
Prima Queen are back with a new single possessing far more groove than one might have expected from the cowboy hat-toting group better known for their brand of feelsy indie guitar music. This shift toward something more danceable is very welcome and refreshes the whole idea of the group. Chew My Cheeks is a veritable indie disco floor-filler that shows there is much more to Prima Queen than may have initially met the eye.
Immediately we are led in a different direction to what we might have expected with a tight groove bounced between bass and guitar. Compared with earlier releases, the track’s arrangement draws out a pop sharpness always present but never the focus in the group’s nascent discography. Milk Teeth in particular leans on its influence from the emotionally wrought rock of acts like Julia Jacklin, whereas this track submits its lyrical depth to the demands of its own pop quality. In one refrain, the description of the object of the song as ‘a masochistic game’ for the speaker is laughingly appropriated as a new source of melody, just one example of the management of the song’s tone to keep it uplifting in spite of the ideas it confronts.
In displaying this new side of themselves, Prima Queen break out of the standard indie guitar group pigeonhole into something more exciting and, frankly, more fun. Chew My Cheeks is out now on Nice Swan Recordings.
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