Artist: Little Prince

So I was enjoying the final track on my first listen of Little Prince's Demo (https://littleprincebk.bandcamp.com/album/demo), when I was struck by the narrator's obsession with a rebel girl that oddly manifested itself in wanting to try on her clothes. Then it hit me: this impulse was not new. I had heard it before. Only then did I check the track's info screen, which confirmed it was a cover (Bikini Kill). Perhaps I should have recognized it sooner; alas, I am a lowly general music reviewer, and not a punk specialist. In fact, my most recent Kathleen Hanna sighting was when The Punk Singer was streaming on Netflix, which I cut short with a Beastie Boy sojourn sparked by the documentary's Mr. Ad-Rock Hanna.

Given my rudimentary Bikini Kill education, Little Prince reminded me more of the recent punk super-group Childbirth. Instead of alluding to Chan Marshall, Little Prince's "Cat Power" is adorable adoration of an actual cat. Probably the same cat gracing Demo's album art in a tiara. (Wait a minute. Is the band Little Prince named after the cat Little Prince?) Childbirth is a fair comparison: singing about dogs, dogs being outside, dogs wanting to come in, asking others to let the dogs in. Little Prince sings about dudes (on "Fuck You"), while Childbirth sings about tech bros. And like Childbirth's "You're Not My Real Dad," Little Prince brings the funny on "Cat Power." And it begs the question: Do you really need to list teen soap opera 90210 as a guilty pleasure if it's the cat who's watching it? (I'm asking for a friend.)

But something about the prominent vocals, so stylish in delivery - the speedy phrasing of "Why" (e.g. :33) and "Fuck You" (:39) - that had me comparing them to personal favorites Girlpool. Little Prince could no doubt pull off a convincing "Blah Blah Blah" cover. However, since the EP is ostensibly a Demo, I'll have look forward to Little Prince's subsequent releases. Maybe the crushing of "Why" will mature into something truly stunning a la Girlpool's "Emily."

*** The author of this review, Danny West, plays the samphor for the following band: http://youtu.be/tMS73-1kCr8