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LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 It\u2019s impossible to hear King Princess<\/a> groan \u201cI\u2019m a loser\u201d on their ambitious third album and not think of Beck singing<\/a> the same line in his canonical slacker anthem released more than three decades ago.<\/p>\n Although \u201cAlone Again\u201d is more of an angsty breakup song than an ode to sloth, the evocation of Beck\u2019s \u201cLoser\u201d is fitting for the 26-year-old born Mikaela Straus. In both Straus\u2019 guitar-driven pop music and her public persona, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist exemplifies an offhanded irreverence that artists who aren\u2019t men rarely afford.<\/p>\n Unlike their previous album, \u201cHold On Baby,\u201d which veered into a solemnity so full of ballads that it sometimes felt in conflict with Straus\u2019 playfulness and snark, \u201cGirl Violence\u201d is a return to form. (Her 2018 debut EP, \u201cMake My Bed,\u201d artfully balances sincerity with sass.)<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry my love \/ You\u2019re (expletive) insane,\u201d she sneers on the album\u2019s ambient opening title track.<\/p>\n In \u201cJaime,\u201d Straus seeks to play coy and appear unflappable toward the object of her desire. That concerted effort eventually belies a desperation.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re just a fly in my glass,\u201d Straus sings coolly at the beginning of the track. But by the end, they surrender \u2014 accompanied by a cacophony of shoegaze-y synths, guitars, percussion and a Mellotron. \u201cI\u2019ve been secretly wishing you\u2019d date me \/ Despite all the times you were wack \/ If you told me I\u2019m cool, I\u2019d collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n That sonic and lyrical contrast exists throughout \u201cGirl Violence.\u201d Scoffs mask tears. Tenderness glistens beneath declarations of violence. \u201cYou prep my despair \/ You know I like it,\u201d she croons on \u201cGirls,\u201d a torch song about self-destructive queer lust. Sultry instrumentation and doo-wop-esque background vocals evoke both melancholic longing and excitement.<\/p>\n Even as Straus sings about heartbreak and insecurity, the album remains mostly tonally upbeat. \u201cEverybody wants me \/ Just ask your man, babe,\u201d she taunts on \u201cCry Cry Cry\u201d over punchy drums and her warm electric guitar.<\/p>\n However, a couple songs struggle to find their place on this record. \u201cOrigin Story\u201d and \u201cSay What You Will\u201d come to mind. Those moments would have fit better on Straus\u2019 mostly moody, midtempo first album.<\/p>\n By large, that Straus is a bona fide rock star is more apparent when she plays live than on their restrained recorded pop songs. But she occasionally shows off her virtuosic skill on her records, like with the crunchy guitar solo at the end of the otherwise laid back \u201cI Feel Pretty.\u201d<\/p>\n That oscillation \u2014 between gritty and pretty \u2014 is a defining theme of \u201cGirl Violence.\u201d<\/p>\n Three and a half stars out of five.<\/p>\n On repeat: \u201cGet Your Heart Broken\u201d<\/p>\n Skip it: \u201cOrigin Story\u201d<\/p>\n For fans of: Maggie Rogers, St. Vincent, dirtbag feminism, trolling the internet<\/a> with Christine Baranski<\/p>\n Krysta Fauria, The Associated Press<\/p>\n<\/div>\n